A Change in Development
by Quick-n-Popular
Summary: AT. Upon arriving back from the Land of Waves, Naruto suddenly finds changes to himself and his life. That and a certain Kunoichi finds herself drawn to the boy. Please R&R.
1. Something Unexpected

**"A Change in Development"**

By Quick-n-Popular

Disclaimer: "Naruto" and its characters are properties of Masashi Kishimoto-sama. I own only those I introduce and the story I've concocted.

A/N: Although there are similarities between this and "The Nidaime's Heir" by adrien skywalker; the plot and the circumstances toward Naruto's heritage should be evident and thus this should NOT be considered a knock-off or plagiarism of another author's work.

Chapter One: Something unexpected

When Naruto and his team and begun leaving the Land of Waves, his mind had been in an upstream of mixed feelings and confounded ideas of what it actually meant to be a ninja.

Though his sensei hadn't said it openly, Naruto could tell that throughout his experience he didn't have an answer for it either, as he had so humbly explained to the group after Sakura's question earlier after the deaths of Zabuza and Haku. His only explanation to them that the answer was to be made by them, individually, as they grew and became more and more immersed in their profession.

Naruto felt that was a cheapened explanation, yet at the same time, it did seem right.

Naruto placed a hand on his stomach as he began to think about his "other" problem and what it signified to that mysterious path as well. Being the jailer of the Kyuubi that had terrorized Kohona twelve years ago and subjected Naruto to the village's contempt, made Naruto wonder if any "normal" path to becoming a ninja still remained far out of his reach or if it was just obscured due to his current role.

Naruto sighed as he glanced up towards his sensei who was leading the way. He dared not ask this lingering question openly and instead put it aside to ask Iruka-sensei when he got back.

They arrived in Kohona as the sun had settled over the horizon. Kakashi made his farewells and his teammates had did also, leaving Naruto alone by himself.

Naruto glanced around and noticed that practically everybody was departing the streets and were going home for the day. Taking advantage of the fleeting street goers, Naruto cheerfully went to his favorite ramen stand in the hopes that Iruka-sensei might be there to greet him.

Much to Naruto's disappointment, he wasn't. However, there were only two occupants at this time, a boy with a weird bowl-cut hairdo wearing green spandex and a girl with her hair tied up in buns on to of her head.

Naruto blinked a couple of times at the pair, having never seen them before coming to his favorite meal spot, he shrugged it off and decided to join them as his stomach reminded him of what it wanted the most.

Upon sitting down and ordering from Teuchi, he leaned his head on a propped up arm as he listened in on the pair's conversation.

"Just you wait and see, Tenten, my Power of Youth will be at its strongest tomorrow and I'll be able to defeat Neji!" The bowl-cut said, proudly.

The girl sighed and set down the kunai she had been twirling around between her fingers as she, then, patted her companion on the back.

"Of course you will, Lee. But, don't give your hopes up if you don't."

Lee, whose eyes seemed to be a creature of their own due to how impeccably shaggy they were; narrowed as he thumped his chest.

"Never! The flames of the Power of Youth, shall never die pout! Why, I'll go around this village fifteen times doing a handstand, should I fail!" He then thumped his chest once more. "Never mind that, I'll do it anyway! Tenten, time me!" He shouted as he then leapt from his stoll and landed on his hands and then went off in a surprisingly high speed.

Tenten sighed as she then went back to her barely touched pork ramen.

"Was that your teammate?" Naruto asked.

Tenten turned to Naruto and took a moment to look him over as to try to remember if she knew or not before sighing.

"Yeah, he is. Although some times I have to remind myself." She then looked at Naruto again. "I've seen you around, haven't I? You're the one who defaces things."

Naruto paled at that last bit. Although usually being proud of his pranks, the way she said it sounded like she was trying to get something foul out of her mouth. He nodded, casting his head down.

Tenten, realizing that her tone wasn't the way she had meant it, cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry, that came out wrong, didn't it? I'm Tenten and you are?"

Naruto brightened a bit as he took her outstretched hand. "Uzumaki Naruto." He said.

Tenten nodded. "Did you just come back from a mission or were you training?" She asked, noticing the state of Naruto's orange jumpsuit.

"A mission." Naruto said. He was just about to go on a long story about it when he felt the same misguided feelings about it as before and just simply smiled. "We went on a C-ranked mission that turned into an A-ranked one."

Tenten's eyes widened. Her team had only been given the chance to go on a few C-ranked ones, nothing higher than that.

"What was it like?" She asked eagerly. "Was there danger involved?"

Naruto felt himself feeling slightly better as he nodded and then began to tell her of his adventure with his team in the Land of Waves...

Soon, when both of them were done with their meals and Teuchi announced he was closing for the night, Naruto offered to escort Tenten back to her home and the two walked through the streets with Tenten giving Naruto her explanation on how the teaching at the Academy for Kunoichis was terribly gender-bias.

Naruto simply smiled as he nodded along with what she was saying, only adding his input in a few places. Soon, they had arrived at her place and he bid her farewell.

Naruto felt he was going to get the best night's sleep after the little pick-me-up from his conversation with Tenten. He reached into his pockets to get his keys to his apartment when suddenly he dropped them.

Naruto starred as his hand began to shaken uncontrollably.

'What the hell?' He thought and soon he clenched his teenth as a pain came from his stomach. His first thought was that maybe he shouldn't have over-indulged himself at the ramen stand, but that thought became null as he realized the pain was not only coming from the inside but the outside of his stomach as well.

Naruto paled as he keeled over and he then lifted up the bottom of his jumpsuit to expose the skin of his stomach and the seal on it.

The seal was converting back and forth from its usual red color to a black and inky luminescent tone. It went this way over and over again.

Naruto panicked as a thought came to mind as to what this could possibly mean.

'T-The K-Kyuubi! N-No!'

Naruto looked around in sheer terror and then he looked longingly at the Hokage Tower.

'I need to get tot he Hokage1 I need-' His thoughts were interrupted as he felt the skin of his stomach being pulled outward accompanied by an even more excruciating pain.

Naruto's eyes widened in terror as what this may imply. He then settled on the thought that the Kyuubi was indeed trying to come out! He knew that should it come out, it would mean disaster for the village. With that in mind, Naruto limped painfully away from his apartment and trudged along, leaning against the sides of the building for support, as he made his way to the gates leading outside of the village.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tenten growled as she left her home. She couldn't believe she had left her favorite kunai at the ramen stand. She silently berated herself as she walked down the darkened street.

Her thoughts took another turn as she caught site of the ramen stand to earlier when she had that conversation with Naruto. She found it pleasant to find a boy who wasn't trying to use his bloodline or clan for superiority or have a weird sensei-worshiping complex. From what she could tell, he was a rather down to earth person and he really seemed to be interested in what she had to say about her misgivings toward her training at the Academy.

Tenten smiled. It was nice to have finally met someone who listened as opposed to her doing all the listening.

Upon reaching the ramen stand, Tenten spent about seven minutes searching in the darkness before her fingers had found her precious kunai.

Sighing out of relief as she held it tightly to her chest, her elation was quickly lost as she heard a voice shout out in pain.

Looking, and listening, she could hear it coming from the outside of the gates.

Normally, she would have ignored such a thing seeing as how it was outside and she knew that two Chuunin guards were there that could see to it, but curiosity getting the better of her, she decided to go see what the commotion was about.

Walking to the gate's entrance, she could hear the voice more clearly now as it seemed to be coming close by from the woods. Tenten then edged on forward and looked to see if the Chuunin were there and, to her surprise, they weren't.

Frowning, Tenten cautiously continued on walking to the source of the noise and as soon as she came upon it, she froze.

Twisting and writhing on the ground, his eyes alive in panic, was Naruto.

"Naruto!" She cried out as she dropped to her knees and put her arms on his trying to get him to hold still. "What's wrong?!"

Naruto didn't answer her as his body seemed to have a mind of its own as his back arched and his legs contorted into bizarre angles as he continued his shouting of pain.

Tenten didn't know what to do. Never once had she been trained for this sort of thing, nor had she any instruction on what to do. Instincts told her to run back to the village and get help.

However, just as she was about to rise, she noticed Naruto's eyes roll back inside his head and then he went completely still.

Tenten turned pale and her voice trembeled. "N-Naruto?" She reached out her hand to touch the boy in hope that she'd get a response and that this wasn't what she feared.

A deep resonating growl caused her to retract her hand and she started to back up farther and farther till she was leaning against a tree when a red gust of energy started to seep out from Naruto's stomach and slowly come out.

Tenten starred, her bottom lip trembling as her mind went into a terrified state of confusion at the site that beheld her.

The energy came out in vast amounts and became as large as the trees that surrounded her and Naruto and then larger. The energy soon began to take shape as the last of it came out of Naruto's body.

To Tenten's horror, it was that of a fox. Her mind soon began to reel back to when she was little and of the stories her father told her of the infamous Kyuubi that had nearly destroyed the village twelve years ago. The demon that had killed the Yondaime and, supposedly, had killed it as well.

The fox-like thing looked to be staggering and, to Tenten's surprise, whimpering like a wounded animal.

Tenten was even more confused. Her confusion over-warped her fear but it soon became panic as the beast then fell onto it's side resounding a terrible crashing sound that caused an updraft spanning out in all directions.

Tenten threw her arms over her face as the gust of air hit her roughly. Moments later it had dissipated and with it she could see, through a gap between her arms, that an eerie red, chakra-like air filled the area around her and Naruto that slowly dissipated and then was gone.

Her heart still beating rapidly, Tenten waited for about five minutes before getting to her feet and cautuously surveying the area.

'What was that?' She wondered. She half-expected the red beast to jump out again, but seeing as how it was relatively safe, she turned her attention back to Naruto who still lay motionless on the ground.

Tenten gulped as she walked back to him and, once again, got down and put her hand on his chest, shaking him slowly.

"Naruto?"

There was no response. Tenten then placed two fingers to his neck and sighed in relief.

There was a pulse.

Suddenly, at that same moment, five figures appeared around her. One she recognized as the Hokage, the others being Iruka-sensei and the other three were ANBU.

"Tenten! What are you doing out here! What happened?!" Iruka asked.

Tenten, still overwhelmed by what had happened tried her best to speak but stopped as she saw the Hokage raising his hand.

"It's alright, Tenten. Come with us and try to regain yourself."

Tenten nodded, slowly and then accepted the offered hand of Iruka-sensei as the other two ANBU picked up Naruto and soon the all of them were headed back to the Hokage's Tower.

To be continued.....

A/N: This is an experiment of mine, not sure how it'll pan out. The next chapter will come out soon, so be patient.

Q-n-P


	2. Changes

**Chapter Two: Changes**

Inside the infirmary in a private sector of the Hokage Tower, Sarutobi, among the many that were in the cramped quarters; surrounded the still, unconscious form of Naruto.

The Third Hokage had been with Umino Iruka, debating about the current practices that were being taught at the Academy when the two of them felt the enormous rush of chakra being upswept just outside the village. Both men knew what it could mean and soon their suspicions were confirmed when they saw the huge terrifying form of the Kyuubi come to life just outside the gates of the village. Just as quickly as it had appeared did they see that it quickly fell and then slowly broke apart in an eruption of chakra that flowed out.

Wasting no more time, Sarutobi, and the ANBU present, along with Iruka; went to the source of the incident in fear as to what might have happened to the boy who had been keeping the Kyuubi in check for all these twelve years. As soon as they had arrived, they had found the boy unconscious and, to their surprise, a young Kunoichi standing by him.

quickly, they had brought the both of them to the tower before any villager could come out.

Now, they waited as the Third conducted several methodic tests on the boy to ascertain if any presence of the Kyuubi remained. Finally he sighed.

"The Kyuubi no longer resides in him, none of it. It's finally over."

The room erupted in a heap of sighs that came from everyone, save the boy, the girl, and the Hokage.

The girl, Tenten, looked confused over the whole matter. Although she had quickly deduced as to what the situation was, she was still ignorant as to the history or reasons behind it. Sarutobi knew he was going to have to have a long talk with her.

"How's Naruto, Hokage-sama?" Iruka asked, eagerly.

The Hokage turned back to the boy, his smile faint.

"He'll be fine. He's most likely just exhausted." He then directed his voice to everyone. "I now must address the village for I'm sure what they had felt just a little while ago." He then turned to Iruka. "Iruka, I need you to stay here and keep watch over him and Tenten. I'd like to talk to the both of them when I'm done consorting over the details of what just happened with the villagers and the council. I'll be posting two ANBU close by so there'll be no intruders."

Iruka nodded.

Sarutobi nodded in turn and then turned to two ANBU and nodded, which they did likewise as they escorted him out and then stationed themselves on both sides of the doorway.

Once he and the rest of the ANBU had departed, Tenten looked up towards Iruka.

"Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka, whose mind had been elsewhere, jumped a little out of startlement but quickly got his composure back as he looked down at his former student.

"Yes, Tenten?"

"Is Naruto really going to be alright?" She asked.

Iruka nodded.

"I really don't understand what's going on here. Why Naruto?" She asked, looking sadly at the boy.

Iruka sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's...complicated, Tenten. You'll have to wait for the Hokage as, I'm afraid, he'll be better to explain than I could."

Tenten sighed and nodded.

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As Sarutobi could have guessed, practically everyone in the village was anxiously awaiting the news. What with the Kyuubi's sudden reappearance and then disappearance, it was like throwing a rock at a hornet's nest. Everyone was in a state of unrest in Konoha.

Standing before them, Sarutobi raised a hand to signify everyone to quiet down as he then adressed them all.

"My dear Konoha. Yes, what you felt just moments ago was indeed the Kyuubi's sudden return. However, it was it's last as our boy, Uzumaki Naruto's seal, drained it of everything it had left and, although it was free it soon gave out as it collapsed and died just outside the gates of Konoha."

Everyone started commenting louder, confusion was rampant, and the looks about weren't exactly forthcoming. Sarutobi decided he needed to to say more.

"I know you all are suspicious as you should be. Such a matter shouldn't be taken lightly with the destruction that happened to our village twelve years ago. But I assure you, my people, that we ARE safe. The Kyuubi IS gone, now. Naruto has full-filled his duty of being both its captor and its executioner. We should all hold him in high applause for his valiant deed for what he's done for us."

This statement led the entire village into sudden silence. Murmuring broke out but it was soon followed by light applause and then the whole village erupted into cheering. Sarutobi smiled and yet felt guilty. These cheers could have been made twelve years ago when Naruto first took his duty of being the Kyuubi's jailer, thus saving the village. However, civil unrest and wide rumors prevented that from happening. Sarutobi could only hope that the village he loved so much could now open their hearts, unconditionally, to the boy who deserved it so much.

Once he had come back to the Tower and into the council's chambers, Sarutobi found himself assaulted by questions by many of the clan heads as most of the elders from the village. He patiently waived his hand for them to hold their questioning until he sat down in his chair. He was then asked the first question by Homura.

"Are you certain, Hokage-sama?" He asked, adjusting his glasses.

Sarutobi nodded as he then recounted to everyone in the room of the events that had transpired. When he had finished, Koharu let out a sigh.

"So, it has finally ended."

Everyone seemed to be of the same elation a several sighs also emitted in the room.

"How's the boy?" Asked Shikaku Nara.

"He'll be fine. He's still resting, at the moment. I'm sure he'll have alot of questions and I'm sure he'll be more relieved than anyone one of being lifted from this terrible burden."

"Has there been any changes to his structure since the Kyuubi's departure? Any remaining ties to the Kyuubi?" Asked Homura.

Sarutobi shook his head. "Nothing remains from the Kyuubi. Though, his chakra coils still maintain their impressive size and, I suspect, some of the Kyuubi's chakra has been cloned and integrated with Naruto's own; so he'll still have an impressive chakra amount."

"The boy should be tested once he awakens."

Everybody turned to Danzo, the only person hadn't seemed to spell out any sort of relief when Sarutobi announced the Kyuubi's departure.

"Tested for what, exactly?" Sarutobi asked.

"For any psychological impact the Kyuubi may have put on him. It may have used a last resort effort in its last moments to trigger something in the boy's mind or an impression of hate against the village. We shouldn't treat this lightly just because things are now over."

Many of the council nodded, Homura and Koharu especially.

"I could test the boy, if you'd like, Hokage-sama." Inoichi Yamanaka said.

Sarutobi sighed. He had really hoped no one still suspected the boy after this wonderful turn of events.

"We'd better use Ibiki as well." Danzo said, flatly.

Sarutboi narrowed his eyes. "Naruto is not to be interrogated. I'll allow him to have his mind checked for anything the Kyuubi could have passed on, but no more. He's no longer a concern, as far as I can see. Instead of trying to find fault in the matter, we, this village; should be celebrating the fact that one of our most vicious enemies in the history of the village has been conquered."

Many of the clan heads nodded, the elders taking their thoughts in mind before nodding as well. However, Homura and Danzo didn't look that convinced.

"This meeting's adjourned. Go home to your families and tell them all of the good news that has transpired here today. For this day is for everyone." Sarutobi said as he lifted off his seat and left the council's chamber.

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Tenten's eyes still remained on Naruto and she couldn't recall how long she had been looking at him. Iruka had fallen asleep in a nearby chair, leaving just Tenten and the guards outside the only awakened.

Looking at Naruto, Tenten didn't know what she should be feeling. Relief? Of course she was relieved that the worst part was over after seeing Naruto go through what looked like the most painful ordeal. Upon the revelation that Naruto had been keeping the, seemingly, dead Kyuubi inside him, Tenten was more confused than ever. The Academy, no, Iruka-sensei had told her and her class that the Yondaime had killed the Kyuubi and thus saved the village. Now, she had found out that was a lie. But a lie to benefit whom?

Tenten's thoughts were interrupted when the Hokage reappeared.

"How's out boy doing?" He asked as he entered.

As if on cue, Naruto began stirring and his eyelids fluttered. He groaned as he shifted from side to side.

"Naruto?" Tenten called out, cautiously.

Naruto's eyes slowly opened and he took a moment observing his surroundings before turning his head to the people in the room. He tried to speak but is voice was raspy.

Tenten got up and went to the nightstand by the bed and poured Naruto some water from the piture and handed him the cup.

Naruto nodded, graciously, and took in vast amounts. Tenten refilled his cup and he guzzled the rest and then shuddered.

"T-Thank y-you....Tenten." He said and then cleared his throat as he then lay back down. "Is...Is everyone alright?"

Sarutobi nodded as he came up and put his hand on the boy's head.

"Everyone's fine, my dear boy. You've saved them all, yet again."

Naruto didn't reply to this but merely nodded.

"How're you feeling, Naruto?" Sarutobi asked.

Naruto closed his eyes and then chuckled, coughing in the process. "Like someone had ripped open my guts and played jump rope with them. Other then that, I guess i'm okay."

Sarutobi chuckled as well at the boy's humor and he noticed that Tenten also brightened up a bit.

"Naruto, we're going to let you get some rest. when you're up to it, come visit me in my office."

"Alright, Old Man." Naruto said, smiling faintly as he then fell asleep once more.

Sarutobi nodded and then placed his hand on Tenten's shoulder and directed her out of the room, letting Naruto, and the snoring Iruka, to sleep.

Once outside, he once again instructed the ANBU there to dissuade anyone on disturbing the boy. He then led Tenten to his office and had the girl sit in the chair facing his desk while he sat in the one behind it, taking off his hat and sighing in the process.

"What a day." He said, smiling.

Tenten nodded.

"That boy is a true hero. There's no doubt about it." He said, still smiling.

Tenten looked to the floor. Whenever she had heard others talk about Naruto they'd always say something snotty or rude about him. It pained her that so many didn't know the truth of it all.

"I take it you've heard all the bad things people have came up with of the boy over the years, am I right?" Sarutobi asked.

Tenten looked up in surprise, to which Sarutobi sadly nodded. "I know all too well what people's general opinion of the boy have been. I wish it hadn't been so. Ever since the Yondaime used the seal to hold the Kyuubi captive and thus saving the village, I had hoped that people would have looked on at Naruto as the savior of the village. However, fear can make fools of us all and it's ashame that Naruto had to be the victim of that."

"Why did I only learn about this today? I don't think anyone in our classes knows." She said.

Sarutobi nodded. "That's because I passed a law stating that no one could openly say what happened. I thought it would be best for your generation to remain ignorant of what happened should you adopt the elder generations, inevitable, anger towards the boy."

"But everybody still treats him badly." Tenten said. "Everytime I heard people talk about him, they always had something negative to say."

Sarutobi nodded. "People still have the means to spread hatred, Tenten. They can do so in many more ways than one." He then got up from his seat and walked to the window. "After what you witnessed today, what''s your impression of the boy?"

Tenten sighed. "I still don't know what to think, Hokage-sama. When I first met with him, talked to him, he seemed like a very nice person. Totally the opposite of the opinions I got from others."

Sarutobi nodded. "That he is." He sighed, "That's how everybody SHOULD see him as." He then turned back to Tenten. "I'm not sure how the public's going to react after this news settles. I'm even more uncertain as to how Naruto's peers are going to react once they hear the news. My law's been rescinded, they'll know everything now." Sarutobi then walked around and then knelt down as he placed a hand on Tenten's. "Tenten, I'm not sure what's going to come from this, but, seeing as how you were there for him during what has to be the most terrifying ordeal in his life, could you be there for him? I'm not ordering you as this is a choice for you to make for yourself, but I'd like you to consider it all the same."

Tenten nodded, feeling a bit honored for the Hokage of all people to be asking this of her.

Sarutobi nodded as he smiled. "Well, I imagine you're tired. You may go home now and rest, if you'd like."

Tenten nodded as she got up and soon opened the door and exited.

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Naruto awoke the following morning and as soon as he did, he unconsciously felt down below toward his stomach, rubbing back and forth. He lifted the sheets of his bed to look at the skin and found, to his surprise that the seal wa no longer there and, instead, in its place; a scar was visible, it taking shpe of the seal that had once been there. He sighed as he gazed at the area, wondering a vast amount as he slowly let the sheets come back down as he lay back in his bed.

He was finally rid of the thing that had made him the village's pariah. No longer would he be burdened with a demon residing inside of him. That made everything all better, right?

Naruto hadn't the faintest clue. He was sure people like the old man and Iruka-sensei might be better to give him some clarity on the situation better than he could. With that in mind, he looked out the window to see how much time had passed. The sun's light was over head over the horizon and he could hear the morning's birds calls come to life. Naruto sat up in his bed and once again looked to his stomach as he still felt the whole thing to be surreal. Shrugging, he looked off to the side to see that his sensei was no longer in the chair in the room, instead he was replaced by some spare clothes of Naruto's that lay folded.

Naruto got up, slowly as he still felt weak from last night's ordeal. His thoughts lingered back to the moment when he felt that pain and where he desperately staggered out of the village in order to prepare for the worse possible outcome. He remembered, vividly, of falling to the grounds in the woods with every kind of pain imaginable being felt and then he remembered hearing a voice. It was a voice of concern.

Naruto's mind slowly retracted to when he first woke up and was surrounded by the old man and Tenten watching over him. Tenten. Was it she that had called out to him during his moment of torture? He didn't know. He did feel oddly comforted that she was among the people in the room when he had awakened.

Naruto shrugged his remaining thoughts off as he got himself up and slowly staggered over to the chair and began to change into his usual orange jumpsuit attaire. Slipping into the clothes had a comforting effect. He knew next what he needed was a good helping of ramen to tide him over and then he'd be set.

However, remembering of his obligations, he thought it would be best, no matter how hungry he felt, to pay the old man a visit so he wouldn't be so concerned with him. With that in mind, Naruto left the room, only to be met by an ANBU with the mask of a lion to tell him he was there to escort him to the Hokage's office.

Naruto obliged and the two of them walked off and down the hall before stopping infront of the two massive doors that led to the Hokage's office.

After knocking, the two were admitted entrance and Naruto walked in while the ANBU closed the door behind him.

Naruto then walked in and sunk into the chair in front of the Hokage's desk, the old man himself looking out the window in front of him, his back turned.

He turned around and smiled as he greeted Naruto.

"How're you feeling, Naruto?"

Naruto sighed as he shrugged his shoulders. "Alright, I guess. My stomach still feels weird and my face itches but other than that I'm ok."

The old man nodded as he too sat down in a chair. "You've gone through quite a lot last night." He stated. "I can't tell you how proud I am of you."

Naruto looked at the man, confused. "Proud?"

The Hokage nodded. "The mere fact that you went outside of the village when this happened showed how much you cared for the people, should the problem have turned to something else means a whole lot to me. You put the village above everything else."

Naruto blushed as he scratched the back of his head. "Well...I couldn't let anyone get hurt because of me."

"You didn't. What's more the seal has finally done its duty and the demon is no more. I think both of us can relax a little more easily now, you more so than I."

Naruto nodded.

"You should know, Naruto, that everyone now knows of your great endeavor."

Naruto looked up. "Huh?"

The old man chuckled as he nodded. "I expect a great change is about to happen. Where it'll go, I do not know. However, I do suspect that things may yet turn to the better for you."

Naruto sighed, yet he still remained quiet as to what his thoughts were. But then, the most lingering question popped into his head.

"Sir, what happens now?"

The Hokage sighed. "I do not know, yet. However, there are some things that you need to do today before you join your team."

"Like what?"

"Well..." The old man said as he got up from his seat, "We'll need to do some tests to make sure you're alright. Even though you look better than ever, we still need to be sure. Can you come back here after you've had something to eat?"

Naruto nodded.

The Hokage smiled, "I've told Iruka to meet you at Ichiraku's. He's waiting there for you now."

Naruto's face brightened as a smile appeared on his face. "Ichiraku's! That's great!"

The old man chuckled. "Alright, be off with you and come back as soon as you're finished. Don't wander off, alright?"

Naruto nodded as he got up from his seat, bowed, and then headed out the door.  
As Naruto left the Hokage's Tower, he wasn't so sure as to what to expect when he ventured out into the street.

Walking onward, he found many people's faces to be...smiling at him? His face shifted in surprise, but, in kindness; he returned the faces with a smile of his own.

This was all too surprising. Normally, he'd be given hated glances or whispered threats. Now, people were smiling at him.

"Hello Naruto! Good Morning!" Said one voice.

"Naruto, it's good to see you!" Said another.

Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was if he was living his dream. However, in his dream, he only got these kind of responses when he already became Hokage.

Naruto feeling slightly better before, continued on his way. Whilst walking, he did find many who merely smiled then turned away or those that just turned another direction when he came in sight.

Naruto sighed. so it wasn't completely perfect. But, this he could live with as opposed what he had endured for the last twelve years.

Naruto made his way to Ichiraku's and was pleasantly surprised to see Iruka in sight. He waived at him joyfully.

"Iruka-sensei!"

"Hey, Naruto!" He waived back. "It's my treat today!" He said.

Naruto hurried over and gave his sensei a loving hug before setting down on the bar stool. Before ordering, Teuchi and Ayame both came around and gave him a pat on the head.

The two of them soon began their meals as Naruto quickly told Iruka of his surprise of the village's welcomings that he got this morning.

"What did you expect, Naruto? You're practically a hero now in everybody's eyes." He said, laughing.

Naruto's mood slightly shifted but he felt content on a smile as he continued on his fourth helping. The two of them went to different topics such as the current weather to new types of shuriken that were supposed to come out. When all was said a nd done, Iruka reached for his wallet to pay for the meals.

Teuchi put his hand up. "Not today, Iruka-san. It's on the house."

Iruka seemed to brighten as much as Naruto as he grinned. "Thanks, Teuchi-san." He then turned back to Naruto. "So, Naruto, what have you got going on today?"

Naruto, picking his teeth, sighed. "Well, the old man said that they need me to due some tests to make sure I'm alright after what happened last night."

Iruka nodded. "I guess that makes sense. Can't be too careful."

Naruto nodded as he got up. "Well, I guess I'll see you -"

Ayame grabbed his arm, stopping him in mid sentence. "Hold it right there, Naruto. You've got some smudges on your cheeks."

Naruto blinked. "I do?"

She nodded as she took off the dishrag she had folded on her apron string and began toi dab at his cheeks. After a few seconds, her face contorted. "Huh."

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"Well...they aren't coming off." She said.

"Let me see." Iruka said as he glanced closely at Naruto's cheeks. After amoment of observation, and some dabbing of his own, Iruka's eyes slowly widened. "I don't believe it. It can't be."

"What?" Naruto was beginning to feel annoyed. "I'll wash my face later. Can you let me go now?"

Iruka nodded as he let go of Naruto and then Naruto waived good-bye to him as he went running back to teh Hokage Tower.

Iruka starred after him.

Ayame tapped his shoulder. "What was it, Iruka-san? What were those?"

Iruka sighed as he scratched the side of head. "I'm not entirely certain, but." He then got up off the stool. "Those almost looked like clan markings to me. Very familiar ones too."

Ayame and Teuchi looked at each other, aghast.

Iruka looked over at the Hokage monument, his thoughts all over the place.

To be continued...

A/N: Well, it's slowly coming into place. hopefully, by next chapter, I'll have been able to get the story rolling as i have a lot in mind. The next one should be up in the next day or so, so stay tuned!

Q-n-P **  
**


	3. A Clean Bill of Health

**Chapter Three: A Clean Bill of Health**

When Naruto arrived in the Hokage's office, he was surprised to see the man not alone and with someone he hadn't met yet looked somewhat familiar.

A man whose hair was platinum blond, tied up in a pony tail, who seemed to have a kind yet weary look about him as if he had seen a lot in his time but commented on it rarely.

The two looked up as Naruto entered.

"Ah, Naruto, come in. I'd like you to meet Inoichi Yamanaka." Sarutobi said.

The man extended his hand, "It's an honor to finally meet you, Naruto."

Naruto excepted the hand and shook it, observing the man curiously. "Yamanaka? Does that mean you're related to Ino?"

The man smiled, "You know my daughter?"

Naruto nodded. "She's one of the many rabid fans of Sauske-teme."

Sarutobi groaned as he closed his eyes.

Inoichi merely sighed and nodded. "That's her alright. Although, I wished she had other things to talk about at the dinner table than her crush on the boy."

Nauto smiled and held back a chuckle.

"Now then." The Hokage said, getting their attention. "Naruto, Inoichi, here, is going to be conducting some tests on your mental health."

Naruto scowled as he then crossed his arms in defiance. "I'm not crazy, Old Man."

Both men chuckled.

"I'm sure you aren't, Naruto." Inoichi said. "What I'm going to be doing is merely poking around to see if I can find any lasting parts of the Kyuubi in your mind."

Naruto gave a worried expression. "That...sounds painful."

Inoichi shook his head. "It's painless, trust me. In the end, it'll have felt like you have just eaten too much ice cream."

Naruto scratched the back of his head and shrugged. "I guess it's okay, then..."

Inoichi nodded and led Naruto to a chair in the room where he had him sit down. He then went behind him and formed one of his hands into a sign.

"Now close your eyes and hold still. I need you to remain still for this whole thing and only open your eyes after I tell you to, alright?"

Naruto nodded as he grimaced and closed his eyes tight.

Inoichi then muttered something under his breath and then he quickly grabbed and clutched the back of Naruto's head.

Naruto's fingers dug into the arm rests of the chair as his head felt like it was on fire. In his mind it felt as if there was a draft of air, circling about and then stopping in certain places for a short while but then moving again very quickly. Whispering could be heard in various instances as the air-like presence moved about, but none of it was coherent enough to make out. The grip on the back of Naruto's head tightened for a moment and then slowly released as Inoichi let out a sigh.

"You may open your eyes now, Naruto." He said, his voice carrying with it hints of exhaustion.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and, when he did, he felt his head throbbing continuously. he held a hand to his head and began messaging his temples. He looked up as Inoichi walked around and addressed both Naruto and the Hokage.

"There's no residual chakra or any kind of force in there. As far as I can tell, he has the healthy mental status for a person of his age. Although, he does dwell too much on ramen." He added the last bit with a laugh.

Sarutobi nodded. "That's good to hear, Inoichi-san. I'm pleased with the results, as I'm sure Naruto is as well."

Naruto nodded, still massaging his head.

Sarutobi nodded. "If you'd be so kind as to write a report for the council, then I think we're all done here."

Inoichi bowed. "It'll be in shortly, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi nodded and then turned to address Naruto. "Well, Naruto, seeing as all this will be behind us, I'm giving you the rest of the day off to do as you wish. Tomorrow I'll be sending you and your team on another mission."

Naruto nodded as he got up and proceeded to head out.

"Uh, Naruto?" The Hokage called out.

Naruto turned around and looked questioningly at the Hokage. He then broke out in a grin.

"Oh, right, I'm sorry." He then walked to Inoichi and bowed in front of him. "Thank you for what you've done, Yamanaka-san."

Inoichi waived a dismissive hand as he grinned, one identical to his daughter's. "Think nothing of it."

Naruto nodded.

"Naruto, you've got some smudges on your cheeks, there." Sarutobi said, tapping a finger to his own cheek.

Naruto sighed, "Yeah, yeah. I know. I'll wash it off when I get home." He then waived as he turned and proceeded, once again; out. "See you tomorrow, Old Man." He then opened the doors and exited the room.

Sarutobi, still looking at where Naruto once was, placed a thoughtful hand to his chin as he began to stroke his goatee.

Inoichi, noticing this, asked, "Is something wrong, Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi's mind raced a little before he resigned and closed his eyes. "It's nothing. At first, I thought those "smudges" were something else entirely, but, now; I don't think so." He then went back to his desk.

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Naruto had his hands on top of his head as he walked along the streets, taking in the air of the village around him as the pain to his head was slightly going away bit by bit. He wasn't at all sure as to what he should do today, seeing as how he was full from lunch and that his teammates were most likely somewhere else. The best thing he could do at this time was train, which brought a smile to his face as he thought of the new experiences he was going to have with training as he no longer was subjected to the fox. However, the more he thought about, he quickly reminded himself of some of the limitations he was now going to experience. No longer would he be able to pull out so many Kage Bushins at once as he now had to rely on his own chakra reserve.

Despite the setback, he was happy that he didn't have to worry about the sudden risk of the demon emerging from him and thus causing harm to so many around him. It was all behind him now.

Smiling, Naruto ran off to one of his favorite training grounds, thinking about all that he could do to make his strength even stronger and he started mentally set a list of exercises and techniques he could practice.

Upon reaching the training grounds, he noticed that it was already occupied. Tenten was there, her hands going in a blinding speed as they went to the sides of her legs to her kunai and shuriken pouches and then in front of her as she flung endless amounts at the makeshift dummies in the arena space. Her breathing was rampant and it seemed her brow was overly condensed by sweat.

Naruto gaped in awe and admiration as he watched her. Never before had he seen someone exert so much energy into throwing and, looking at the results on her targets; with such deadly precision and accuracy. Naruto gulped and he promised himself never to get on the bad side of the weapons master.

Naruto slowly made his approach as Tenten seemed to stop for a bit of respite. Her hands clinging to her knees as she bent forward, breathing hard. Her attention was fully on analyzing the result of her throws and only when Naruto whistled out loud in awe of her performance did she turn to see him.

"You're good." He stated as he grinned.

Tenten smiled amidst her breathing.

"Thanks." She broke out between breaths. "You here...to train...as well?"

Naruto nodded. He then formed a hand sign and used the Kage Bushin and created three clones of himself. He walked with the clones to a clearing just several feet away from the dummies, and got into stance and waited for his clones did the same. Then, Naruto pulled out a kunai as one of his clones got into a taijutsu stance, another whipped out a pair of shuriken, and the last brought out a bo staff.

Naruto closed his eyes and took in a lasting breath before reopening his eyes as he quickly darted forward, his clones doing the same.

Tenten, who had first been surprised by Naruto's ability to make physical clones, and three, no less; could only watch with anticipation as the boy and his clones converged and the melee began.

Focusing on the Naruto with the kunai, as she assumed he was the original; she watched as he made a roundhouse kick sending the taijutsu Naruto flying into the air and then dispelling instantly. The shuriken Naruto sent three shurikens at Naruto, which quickly divided into three parts and were directed at the center of him. Kunai Naruto, the original, dropped to the ground and forced his kunai up, catching two out of the three shurikens; he then took them and sent them flying back at their owner. Bo staff Naruto came up quick as he whipped around behind Naruto and sent the staff flying at his head. Kunai Naruto caught the staff on his kunai, but the force caused him to falter and he immediately stumbled backwards. Meanwhile, shuriken Naruto had dodged the shurikens that had came at him and he was now bringing out four more which he threw. Kunai Naruto, in the midst of being hit in the chest by bo staff Naruto; grabbed the end of the bo staff and swung bo staff Naruto in front of him and thus blocked the shuriken and dispelled bo staff Naruto. Then it was just the two. Both Narutos looked at each other, carefully. The two of them charged at each other, shuriken Naruto flinging shuriken after shuriken. Kunai Naruto swatted away each shuriken with his kunai blade. He then stopped, crouched, and then leap and threw his kunai with great aim. Naruto did a flip in the air and landed behind his clone just as it dispelled. Once it had, he fell to the earth, clinging it as he took in vast amounts of air. His face was covered in sweat as he breathed heavily.

"That was quite a show." Tenten said as she sat down next to him.

Naruto flashed a grin as he panted, wearily; he nodded.

"Maybe, when you're up to it, we can go against each other." Tenten said.

Naruto looked at her, confused, and then he slightly paled. "I'm not sure if I should. I saw the way you treated those dummies back there."

Tenten grinned, "I never go easy on anything, or anyone."

Naruto gulped but then smiled as he chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind."

Tenten nodded.

Naruto, once he had finally caught his breath, looked to Tenten. "Do you come to train here often?"

Tenten nodded. "Yeah, although there's a different one me and my team use; this one rarely has anyone using it, so it's good for some alone time."

Naruto nodded. "I know what you mean. This is the only place I can train by myself without having being yelled at by others to wait for them to finish."

Tenten nodded, she then began twirling a kunai on one of her fingers as she looked down. "Can I ask you something?"

Naruto, surprised by the change in tone, looked at her and then nodded. "Sure."

"When...When that...When the Kyuubi was inside you, did it...did it hurt?" Her almond-brown eyes looked up at him.

Naruto sighed. He knew that this sort of thing was going to come up now more and more. He sighed once more and then simply shrugged. "You know, most of the time I wasn't even aware it was in me."

Tenten nodded as she looked away once more. "When did you find out about it? Did your parents tell you?"

Naruto shook his head as he looked down, clutching and pulling some strands of grass. "I don't have any parents and no one at the orphanage told me. It was only several several weeks ago that I was told by that traitorous Mizuki-baka."

Tenten turned back to him, her face alive in surprise. "You mean no one has told you for all those years?!"

Naruto nodded, grimly. "The Sandime's law prohibited anyone every telling me. Although, I did get some hints when people used to throw stuff at me and call me things like "demon" or "fox-brat". Though, I didn't really understand what they meant, at the time." Naruto's eyes widened and he fell back as Tenten growled and punched the ground.

"Those bastards! How...How could they do that to you?" She looked at him with concern. "How could you go on with all of that?"

Naruto smiled and pointed to the Hokage Monument, which Tenten then saw. "It's because of them. I swore to myself that I'd become a shinobi. But not just any ol' shinobi, I'd become the greatest shinobi this village has ever seen, and then I'd become Hokage. Being Hokage, I was sure that I would finally get everyone to acknowledge that I was there and they would have to get over themselves and treat me right."

Tenten smiled as she put her head in her hand and looked at the boy. Seeing the gleaming look in his eyes when he spoke, the determination that powered his voice; there was no doubt in her mind that he'd be the best Hokage there ever was.

Naruto, seeing her smile, blushed and began scratching the back of his head in a nervous fashion.

"Well," Tenten said. "After what's happened, it seems that you've gained the respect for a lot already."

Naruto's face faultered as he nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

Tenten scowled, "It's only a shame that those idiots couldn't see the real you before all this. I can't even imagine what your life's been like before all of this."

Naruto smiled, "Well, it had its ups and downs." He then laughed, gleefully. "Pranking sure helped me out some tough times."

"Some of those were nothing to be proud of, Naruto." Said a voice from behind.

Naruto and Tenten turned their head to see Yuhei Kurenai approaching them. Her face in a bemused smile.

"I see you're looking well." She stated.

Naruto nodded. "Ino's dad poked around my head and said that there's nothing left of the Kyuubi inside me."

Kurenai smiled. "That's wonderful."

Naruto nodded and then he turned to Tenten. "I don't know about you but I could use a snack about now. Do you want to come to Ichiraku's with me?"

Tenten smiled and nodded. the two then got up and bowed to Kurenai before saying goodbye to her.

Kurenai watched the two of them go, smiling. Kurenai then walked back to her home. Upon entering she quickly brought out a quill and some ink. After a brief moment of writing, she rolled up the paper and performed a seal on it. With the sealed paper in hand, she went to the window and whistled. A large raven with the kanji for "hope" painted white on its left wing, dropped onto the sill as Kurenai tied the scroll underneath the wing of the bird. She then performed another jutsu and the scroll disappeared. she then gave a quick instruction to the bird, to which the bird solemnly nodded. It then hopped as it turned around and then launched itself from her sill and into the sky.

Kurenai watched and smiled as she closed her eyes.

'The sooner she gets here, the better. Her father's "marks" are already starting to show.'

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In a small cottage just outside Kumo, a woman covered in a white-hooded robe was tilling the field in the late afternoon. Her attention was diverted when she heard a screeching sound and she turned to look up towards the sky as she saw a raven coming down.

The woman dropped the tool as she ran quickly to the door of the cottage. She banged on the door.

"My Lady, it has come! Come out here quick!" She shouted, gleefully.

Another woman appeared from the cottage, dressed in the same manner as her subordinate.

The raven gave another screech as it opened its wings and flapped several times while in mid air above the womens' heads. It the screeched once more and then turned and flew away.

The woman at the cottage's entrance reached out her hand and seemed to catch something that wasn't there. She then waived to the departing bird.

"Thank you, Gozou!" She then performed a hand sign and filled the seemingly empty hand of hers with chakra. Once she had done this, her hand suddenly became occupied with a large scroll.

"Can, can this mean...?" Her partner squealed, anxiously.

The other woman sighed, "Calm yourself, Saigu. We can't give our hopes up, you know." She said the last part in a despaired tone.

"But my lady, you've been so patient." Saigu said.

The other woman nodded as she then bit on her finger to draw blood and then placed the bloodied finger on the seal. The seal opened with a resounding snap, the woman unrolled the scroll and quietly read its contents.

Her companion, Saigu, watched with sheer anticipation and excitement, teeth biting down on her bottom lip. However, when her "lady" had then lost balance and then leaned against the door for support, she quickly came to her aid.

"My lady, what's wrong?"

The woman handed her the scroll to read whilst she rest her head against the hand that held onto the door for support.

"Thank kami. It...It's finally over for him. Now, I can see him once more."

To be continued....

A/N: I'm sorry the chapter has to end here and that it seems somewhat rushed, but I felt this was an important cliffhanger as it has a lot of implications for the story. I'm also sorry that I haven't gone any further into explaining the "marks" on Naruto's face, but I'm saving that for the next chapter as all will go into a much deeper explanation. Hopefully, this chapter will suffice, and if not, well the next one will come in a day or so; so please be patient.

Q-n-P


	4. Reactions and Sudden Attractions

**Chapter Four: Reactions and Sudden Attractions**

Naruto awoke to the ribbitting sound of his frog-alarm clock. His eyes opened, reluctantly, and he gazed out through the window of his apartment before finally lifting his head up and yawned. Rubbing two fists to his eyes, he used one to force the alarm clock into silence.

'A brand new day.' He thought to himself, groggily. His swung his feet out and onto the cold wooden floor and he made about his usual morning routine. After dressing himself, he made his way into the kitchen and opened his fridge. Taking out a carton of milk, he stopped himself before applying the spout to his lips. Raising it up to his nose, he sniffed, and then gagged. The carton fell flimsily out from his hand and splatted on the floor, its thick contents making a small layer.

'I really hate mornings.' He sighed as he went about cleaning up the mess before finding alternative means for breakfast.

Half an hour later, Naruto went at a brisk pace as he set out to meet his teammates over at their training grounds. He felt excited as he knew today the Old Man was going to give them another assignment. He wondered to himself if it was going to be any different than the experience both he and his team had got in the Land of Waves.

Naruto arrived at the training ground 14. He stopped before entering to try and find the forms of his teammates. It didn't take long as he saw Sasuke leaning against a tree at the far end and Sakura close by to him.

Naruto smiled. He wondered how his recent "recover" had affected his teammates.

Walking over, Naruto broke out into his patented grin and waived.

In return, he got a smirk from Sasuke.

"Well, well, the dobe shows himself. And here I thought you'd stay in bed for the rest of your life."

Naruto returned the grin. "Not a chance, teme. Nothing's going to keep me from my dream of being the best shinobi there is! I WILL be Hokage!"

Sasuke 'hn'd' and crossed his arms.

Naruto looked to his other teammate and, to his surprise, she was looking away.

"Oi, Sakura-chan, how are you?"

Sakura looked at him from the corner of her eye and then looked away again.

Naruto slowly approached her. "Is something wrong?"

Sakura, then, backed away.

Naruto's face dropped. He knew something like this would happen. He knew that a lot, or some, of those that he knew would distance themselves after learning the truth about him. One of his biggest fears was that his teammates would reject him after learning about him. While it was surprising for Naruto to have Sauske still on his side, he had hoped Sakura would have been there automatically.

Naruto hung his head and he sighed. Before he turned back to Sasuke, he hears Sakura speak.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

Naruto looked up and now saw that Sakura was looking at him and with a hurt expression.

Naruto blinked for a moment before answering.

"I was told not to, Sakura-chan."

She didn't say anything more only she continued to separate herself more and more away from him, should he try to come close.

Kakashi arrived late, as usual, and took his students with him to the Hokage Tower to receive their new assignment.

During the brief trip, Naruto had managed to get a small conversation out of Kakashi and felt better getting two out of three of his team members to be supportive of him. Kakashi, during their conversation, mostly inquired onto Naruto's current well being, to which Naruto related some of the things he had to endure whilst proving to people that he was indeed free from the Kyuubi, and also the changes in the villagers.

Kakashi seemed happy, to that effect and nodded his approval of the change of events for his student.

The four had arrived at the Hokage's Office shortly and the 3rd seemed happy to see them all.

"Ah, Kakashi, good to see you and your team here."

Kakashi nodded.

The weathered Hokage shifted his hand and fingers through and opened drawer on his desk. After a moment of shifting through, he produced a single file and opened it.

"Well now, let's see what we have here for you three. Ah, it looks like we have a report of a recently disposed Missing-Nin's underlings wrecking havoc on the border -line between here and Kusa no Kuni. Apparently, these three men have been attacking caravans sending medical supplies to the isolated farms in Kusa." He then handed the folder to Kakashi as he continued speaking. "This will be a B-ranked assignment for you all. After your performance in the Land of Waves, I've decided to let you have one you deserved, based on your execution on that other assignment."

Kakashi looked a little apprehensive. He looked over a tNaruto, his mind wondering if the loss of the demon would effect him in the worst.

Sarutobi saw the look and sighed. "Should I have thought that even one of you weren't prepared for this, I wouldn't have selected it for you."

Kakashi gave out a quiet sigh as he nodded. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi nodded, "You and your team will have the rest of today to go over the details and prepare before setting out tomorrow. Will it suffice, or will you need more time?"

Kakashi gave a quick read through of the document in hand before shaking his head. "No, today will do."

Sarutobi, once again, nodded. "Very well, you are all dismissed. Good luck."

All four bowed and then left the room.

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The briefing had been, well, brief as the extent of planning for the venture they were going to embark upon tomorrow was relatively easy.

Kakashi had roles for all of them to play and he knew, given the chance, that the three of them would improvise should it be needed.

Kakashi wasn't worried. However, seeing how his Kunoichi was behaving upon their recently recovered teammate, he was concerned. As soon as they had wrapped up the briefing, he quickly called her back hile the other two males left in separate directions.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura, I take it you too have heard the secret regarding Naruto."

Sakura turned her face away and nodded.

"Judging by your attitude to him today, it seems your having problems with this knowledge. Will it still be a problem tomorrow when we start this mission?" He asked, eyeing her carefully.

Sakura sighed. "I...I just don't know if I can trust him."

Kakashi sighed. "Sakura, the demon's out of him, now. He's been cleared by every specialist here in Konoha. He can be trusted."

Sakura, to his surprise, shook her head. "I don't like it that he kept it from us. We're his team, he should have told us."

Kakashi sighed as he finally understood what was bothering her. "Disregarding the fact that it was a S-Class secret, what would you have done if you knew?"

Sakura looked at him and then back down at the ground. She shrugged and then sighed as she crossed her arms and hugged them. "I see what you mean. I guess it's not an easy subject."

Kakashi nodded. "Even if Naruto would have been allowed to talk about it, I doubt that he would have. The role he played for this village had caused him quite a bit of pain for as long as he knew. I think he would have been very reluctant to share it openly as he would have been afraid of driving people he cared about farther away."

Sakura looked at Kakashi in surprise. She then, once again, down casted her eyes.

"But," Kakashi said, as he began to walk away. "I think it would mean a lot for Naruto if people took the time to talk to him about it and hear how he feels now. The more people come to him and show him that, after learning the news, that he's not a monster, the better off he'll be."

Sakura gave a soft smile as she wordlessly nodded.

Kakashi nodded back and then brought out his orange book as he walked away.

Sakura stood there after her sensei had left, her mind going in endless directions. Then, another smile appeared as she suddenly took off.

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The news of their new assignment made Naruto feel happier than when he had that disapproving scene with Sakura. He didn't necessarily blame her for her reaction to the news, but he had hoped the opposite of what he got from her.

Naruto shook his head of the depressed thoughts he got from recalling that scene.

'No, no, I got to get it together. I mean, so what if she feels that way.' Naruto's thoughts had ended as he soon saw a person he was hoping to see today.

"Hey! Tenten-chan!" He called outloud.

Tenten, walking with her team, blushed hearing the suffix attached to her name; as well as the blond-haired boy waiving and running towards her.

Maito Gai, her sensei, smirked as he first looked at the approaching youth and then looked to his own student.

"Ah, the glorious flames of youth burn brightly today. Tenten, you've been busy, I see."

Tenten went scarlet red. "What?!"

"Ah yes, I see what you mean, Gaie-sensei! Naruto's youth burns brighter than it has in the past days! Tenten, you brought him out of the darkness and wheeled him into his normal youthful power!" Lee responded, in vigor.

Tenten blinked. "I what?"

"They're saying that you got him out of his depressed state." Hyuuga Neji stated as he looked away.

Tenten, then, slowly realized what her sensei had been saying. "Uh, yeah, I guess I have."

Gai seemed to be giving her an approving nod while Lee gave her a thumbs up with a sparkling smile. Neji, was Neji, as he turned his attention elsewhere out of cold indifference.

The blond soon reached them as he stopped in front.

"Good afternoon, Naruto-kun." Gai said. "Did you just get done with my eternal arch-rival?"

"Huh?" Naruto asked, blinking.

"He means Kakashi, your sensei." Tenten interpreted.

"Oh," Naruto scratched the back of head. "Uh, yeah. We're going to be going on a mission tomorrow."

Gai nodded, "I hope it is fruitful and that you and your team prevail."

Naruto nodded. "Arigato, Gai-sensei." He then turned to Tenten. "Say, uh, Tenten?"

Tenten looked at him curiously. "Yeah?"

"Well, about what you asked me yesterday. If you have the time today, I'd like to have that match with you; if you don't mind."

Tenten smiled brightly. "Yeah, I would to. I think I'll be done in about an hour, right?" She looked to her sensei who nodded. She turned back to Naruto and nodded, "So, yeah."

Naruto gave her an equally bright smile. "Well, great! It's a date then, I'll see you there!" He then turned around and then sped off in the opposite direction.

Tenten smiled as she watched him leave.

"A date?"

She turned her head back to her team as they, minus Neji, seemed to be grinning at her. Tenten turned red as she scowled at the bowl-cut duo.

"You know what he meant!"

"I say go for it, Tenten-chan!" Lee said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

Tenten felt her irritation rising and she brushed off Lee's hand, in a huff. She muttered 'idiots' before walking past them.

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As Tenten was making her way to the training grounds to meet Naruto, Tenten did stop in her thinking to ponder on the subject as she had found her earlier reaction rather half honest.

She had been dwelling on Naruto a lot today as the revelation upon his circumstances that were revealed to her yesterday had a profound impact on her. She remembered feeling angrier than she had ever been when hearing him tell her about his treatment and abuse at the hands of their village. That and how she felt impressed about how he had treated it.

In a way, she was envious of his calm, care-free, attitude when he was faced with those things as she knew, if it were her; she would have taken a more violent, direct, route.

She was never one to let things go against her and she'd be damned if she would let anyone treat her in that kind of fashion. However, learning on how long Naruto had endured this kind of emotional, and sometimes physical, abuse; she wondered how long she would have lasted before finally snapping.

Tenten arrived at the training grounds shortly, her arrival was quickly met with Naruto smiling and waiving at her as soon as she came into his sight.

Tenten found herself smiling and waiving back as she approached, much to her surprise.

'It's amazing how he does that.' She thought to herself. 'How he can quickly change any mood around by that...that smile of his.'

Little words were spoken before the two finally converged and set themselves up for the match they had planned. Tenten had brought out her scroll, ready to bring out heaps of weaponry.

Prior to setting up for their skirmish, Naruto had told her that neither of them should go easy on each other if they really wanted to have a proper match. Tenten nodded at this as this is what she wanted as well.

The two stood apart from each other a couple of a dozen of feet. Naruto had brought out two kunais as he then had casted four Kage Bushins, all armed as he was. As soon as they came in, he then began his running assault at her.

Tenten smirked as she then brought forth a series of bomb attached with sharpened barbs and another series of kunais attached with explosive notes attached to them, at him. From this, two of Naruto's clones had poofed out of existence but his sheer determination and drive kept him going forward as he rolled, dived, ducked, and weaved while he avoided the on coming projectiles from her.

Tenten then launched a multitude of shurikens at him, all of them coming at multiple angles as a means to limit the amount of room where he could possibly avoid them.

Naruto, at a fast pace, managed to knock a number of them away from him using his kunais. However, his thighs got grazed in a number of areas from the ones he missed or deliberately let through his guard. He had a very devious smile about him as he continued on forth.

Tenten raised an eyebrow as she was trying to determine what was going on in his mind. then it came to her quickly as she saw that his clone wasn't there and there weren't any traces of smoke to indicate that she had eliminated it. Listening, she could hear approaching footsteps from behind her and she quickly, in one smooth motion, raised her scroll up and removed a long rapier from its contents as she blocked the attack coming from behind.

The clone was putting all its strength onto her blade and Tenten felt her legs locking and being brought down in response. She quickly pumped chakra into her arms to gain more strength as she brought the blade upward and tossed the close off of her. Then, she sliced through the air and managed to catch the clone through the torso, thus taking it out of the game.

Turning her attention back to the original, who was almost within reach of her; Tenten brought the blade forward and parried a round of strikes Naruto made against her. Now it all became a back and forth struggle as their weapons struck against eachother in their desperate bid to try and catch the other off guard. It was rigorous and tiring, yet both she and Naruto seemed to be utterly determined to not give in so quickly.

Tenten smiled. She was enjoying this. Lee was never one to spar off against her as he only excelled in taijutsu and their matches were only limited to him dodging her advances. Neji was all about speed and was obviously the victor in it. But now, with Naruto, Tenten felt she could finally use all her training to her advantage than having it squandered off.

Their battle had been going on for nearly over an hour now and both were shoing signs of exhaustion. Tenten had finally managed to catch him in the arm, forcing him to release the kunai in his left hand. He managed to get her in her right shoulder and in her left thigh, forcing her to use the full strength of her left arm.

Then, as he began to make her back up, Naruto foot accidentally caught on a root coming from the ground and he lost his entire balance.

Before Tenten could do anything, he toppled forward abruptly and knocked her down with him.

Tenten felt the sudden impact of the back of her head meeting the ground and she winced as her mind shot around in the brief pain.

Groaning, she opened her eyes and shook her head and then her face went red as she felt Naruto's body upon her. He slowly put his hands flat on the ground on both sides of her and pushed himself up.

"Sorry about that." He said, apologetically.

"No worries." She said as she leaned against her forearms and brought the upper part of her body up. Both of them were breathing hard, numerous cuts all around their bodies.

"Well, I gotta say." He said, "That's been the best workout I've had in a long time."

Tenten nodded, "Yeah, same as for me."

Naruto then pivoted himself and sat beside her as both continued on in regaining themselves.

"Hey Tenten?"

She turned to him. "Yeah?"

"Do you think we can meet up and do this more often?" He asked.

For some reason unknown to her, Tenten turned a slight shade of red as she nodded. "I'd like that."

Naruto nodded his foxish grin coming out in full force. "I have to say, with all the people I've matched up with, you're the best by far."

Again, Tenten's face blushed. "Thank you."

Naruto nodded. He then wearily got to his feet and brushed off the dust from his orange jumpsuit. He then observed the cuts in it and various rips in the fabric. He sighed.

"Well, there goes another one."

Tenten felt a pang of shamefulness on her part on ruining his clothes. "Sorry about that."

Naruto looked at her in confusion. "Why? I told you to go all out."

Tenten nodded. "Yeah, but still, all the same; I'm sorry about it."

Naruto shrugged. "It's okay, I can live with it. I'll just buy a new one after my mission tomorrow."

Tenten nodded as she then turned her gaze to the ground. A smile came to her face as she thought of something.

"You know, I know this really great place where you can get some clothes at a discounted price. They're still open right now, I think."

Naruto looked at her, quizzically. "Ok, but I'm fine with these until I get paid after tomorrow's mission."

Tenten shook her head. "Naruto, your right sleeve is almost at the point of ripping off completely and," she blushed and turned away, "Your...boxers are showing in a lot of areas around your hips."

Naruto looked down and paled as he tried to pull up his pants to try to conceal his undergarments, with no luck.

"Ugh! I didn't think it was THIS bad!"

Tenten chuckled. "Well it could be worse if I had gotten more agressive with you."

This time, Naruto turned red. "More agressive?"

Tenten smirked as she nodded. "Yup. Now, let's see about getting you some new clothes. You can always buy another...jumpsuit, after you get paid tomorrow, right?" She had said 'jumpsuit' cautiously, trying not to make her disapproval for something so loud in color and restricting in some certain movements.

Naruto sighed and nodded, "Alright, I guess."

Tenten nodded and she accepted Naruto's hand as he picked her up off the ground. Her face did another turn as she felt his warm, worn, hand against her slightly worn one.

As the sun was beginning to set in the early evening hour, Tenten and Naruto still made their pace quick as they got to the shopping district of Konoha.

They soon came in front of a small shop called "Aido's Simple Wears and Gears". Tenten explained to Naruto how Aido Himori was a friend of her family as she introduced the two. The meeting had been brief due to Aido's need to close soon so the two thus went searching for clothes.

Much to Tenten chagrin, Naruto's fashion sense was next to nothing as he seemed to try to find something closely resembling his original jumpsuit.

Tenten grabbed him by the wrist and led him away from the jumpsuit collection and led him off into different areas all the while asking him about his sizes in clothing. After some resentment and reluctance, Naruto gave in and gave her what he knew to be his sizes. She then grabbed a wire-mesh black shirt along with a black pair of black pants and told him to change into them.

While waiting for him, Tenten, worried that they may need more time, asked Aido if he could remain open for a bit longer, to which he seemed to give her a knowing wink, much to her embarassment.

After trying several times to convince him otherwise, Naruto emerged from the dressing room and Tenten literally found her jaw dropping.

It became clear to her that Naruto's orange bulky jumpsuit did him a disservice in appearance as it hid how well toned he was for a boy of his age. His arms were well built as well were his shoulders and back. His chest was firmer than most kids his age and his stomach was flatter with a bit of rise in muscle. Tenten then remembered how Naruto had told her that he had nearly been training everyday in his life since he was five when he had decided he wanted to become the best shinobi there ever was. He was definitely making the progress to getting there.

"Uh, Tenten-chan? Why are you blushing? Does it look bad?" He asked, worried.

Tenten shook her head as she tried to tone down the color of her face. "No, not at all...uh, you look great actually. Uh, now for the last bit." She then went to another isle and produced a leather trench coat that was his size yet wouldn't hinder him in any flights whether they be in speed or random movements.

Once she was satisfied with his new appearance, she took him to a mirror and let him see for himself.

at first, Naruto looked over many times to try and familiarize himeself with his new look. He then made a nod of approval.

"It's okay?" she asked.

He nodded again. "It's new, but I think I kinda like it."

Tenten smiled as she then led him to Aido at the register.

Aido caused both teens to blush when he announced that since they were a couple he'd let them have a fifty percent discount. Seeing as how Naruto had little money as it is the two of them swallowed the protests they were going to make and paid the man.

Walking out into the street with a bag full of his torn jumpsuit, Naruto accompanied Tenten back to her home.

Neither one spoke on the way there. Tenten wasn't sure if it was because of Aido's comment or for the fact that both of them were still beat from their sparring.

However, once they had arrived, Naruto, to tenten's surprise, took her hand into his.

"I really had a wonderful time today." He said, grinning.

Tenten took it all in a moment before replying. "I did too."

Naruto then flashed a bit of embarrassment as he scratched the back of his head. "Well, um, I..."

"Yes?" She asked him, curious as to what he was going to say, or rather, what he was trying to say.

Naruto sighed as he looked down at the ground. "You know..." He looked back up at her and the sighed and waived his hand. "Never mind. It doesn't matter."

Tenten blinked before slowly nodding her head. "Alright. I guess I'll see you when you get back?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I'll see you then, Tenten-chan." He then squeezed her hand before turning around and leaping up onto the rooftops and then disappeared from her sight.

Tenten stood there, looking at her hand and flexing her joints as that moment seemed to be firmly placed into her hand's memory. She smiled as a thought came to her.

'Good thing Gai-sensei and Lee aren't here.'

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Two figures donned in white robes walk soundlessly to Konoha's gates. Carrying very little than a bag on each of their shoulders, they stopped a few feet from the Chuunins' posts as the one behind the other sighed in ecstasy.

"It's so good to be back after all this time."

The one on front nodded and they continued on in and finally came to a stop in front of one of the Chuunin's posts.

The Chuunin, who was drawing, looked up and sighed.

"Welcome to Konoha." He said in a tired tone. He then noticed that their hoods hid their faces. "Before we can provide you with passes, please remove your hoods and identify yourselves."

the two women looked to each other and nodded. The first woman, the one closest to the Chuunin, dropped her hood to reveal long flowing red hair and a pair of sandstone-brown eyes. The woman behind her dropped her hood to reveal a shoulder length plum colored hair, a pair of green eyes, and two irregular markings on her cheeks.

The man gaped for a bit at the beauty of the two before clearing his throat and bringing out some sheets of paper.

"Names?"

The woman in front of him smiled. "Uzumaki Kushina and Saigu Rin."

The man dropped both his pen and his jaw.

To be continued.....

A/N: Just so its clear, I'm not trying to make Sakura a bad person. More like a unclear, misinformed, one. And no, she's not going to be in a love triangle for Naruto's affections but she will have a prominent role in this soon enough. I hope I got the physical characteristics of Kushina and Rin down, I wasn't exactly clear as to what their eye colors are and am even more uncertain as it comes to Rin's hair color and the markings on her face. Any help there will be most appreciative.

A/N II: As always, please review after reading. Thank you.

Q-n-P


	5. Perfect Blue

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A/N: I'd like to thank those who helped correct me on Kushina and Rin's appearance. Thus, the changes have been made in here. Thank you.

I had gotten a review criticizing my portrayal of Sarutobi and how he treated Naruto's recovery by announcing to all that Naruto was free of the demon and thus reneging on his own law. The only thing I have to say about that is, is that this is the way I wanted the story to run. True, telling the public that Naruto was the demon's vessel was risky, but, if memory serves me right, 95% of the public in Konoha already knew Naruto had the Kyuubi in him. the only ones left in the dark were the younger generations, i.e. Naruto's classmates and the kids below them. In my opinion, seeing as how the public had taken the choice to disregard the Third Hokage's law in the first place, even with Sarutobi telling them the demon was no more; the parents would have eventually had to explain why their children had been lied to. All the youths of Konoha had it in their minds that the Kyuubi was killed those twelve years ago, so it would inevitably been drawn out that Naruto was the one keeping the demon inside of him. At least in my opinion, that is. In any case, I'm pleased that I got some feedback and I'm glad the criticism was constructive, despite it being flame-ish.

Now, on with the story.  
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**Chapter Five: Perfect Blue**

Sarutobi had another one of those feelings he had always felt when something odd or peculiar was about to occur when he had gotten up this morning. It wasn't the first time and, unfortunately for him, it would never be the last until he left this world.

Standing behind his desk, gazing out at his beloved city of Konoha, he felt that same odd pang as there came a knocking to his door.

"Yes?" He called.

A Chuunin came in, he looked rather nervous.

"What is it?" Sarutobi asked.

"Well, Hokage-sama, there's two visitors here to see you. Well, you and Naruto, that is." He said.

Jiraya was the first person to come to Sarutobi's mind when it came to the names of people wanting to visit both him and Naruto. However, Jiraya was last heard from in Suna, so it couldn't possibly be him. Or could it?

"What do these "visitors" look like?" The Hokage asked.

The Chuunin looked back at the entryway and then to the Hokage. "Well, uh, they're two women, sir."

Sarutobi's eyes widened for a bit as another name came hurtling back at him. "Tell them to come in."

The Chuunin nodded and retreated back to the outside.

Sarutobi got to his chair and sat in it as two figures, to whom he thought he might never see again, came strolling in. One, whose mousy-brown hair came down to her shoulders had the most peculiar rectangular marks on her cheeks, looked to the floor, shyly. The other, a distinct polar opposite of her counterpart, had blood-red flowing hair. Her forest-green eyes matched her smirk like a cat after being fed a hearty meal.

Kushina Uzumaki and Rin Saigu.

Both women bowed to him before taking the only two seats in the room.

"I can't tell you how delightful it is to see you both. I was afraid I might never see you again, since communication between us had been severed." Sarutobi said as he began packing his pipe.

Kushina nodded. "It was my student who was able to track me down."

Sarutobi thought for a moment before relinquishing a sigh. "Ah, yes. Sometimes I forget that Yuhei Kurenai was your student and I forget even more so the limitless of her brilliance." He then lit his pipe and took a long inhale of the tobacco before continuing. "How long has she been in contact with you?"

"Ten years, thus far. I asked her to give me monthly reports about Naruto and the goings on in Konoha."

Sarutobi then paled and he sighed. "So you must know, then. How the people have disregarded Minato's wish."

Kushina closed her eyes and took in a deep breath before answering. "Yes. Yes I did."

Sarutobi observed her, curiously. "I would have half-expected you to come in here yelling at me, for knowing this."

Kushina smiled. "What good would that have done? I AM angry, let there be no mistake about that. However, I do realize how many powers there are in Konoha besides yourself and how they factor in to all of this. After all, they were the reason I had to go into exile in the first place."

Sarutobi nodded.

Kushina pointed a finger at him while giving a wry smile. "Don't think this gets you off the hook, Old Man."

Sarutobi grimaced. 'They're too much a like, in some ways.' He then straightened his hat as he took another puff. "So, now that you're back, what are your plans with Naruto? Are you going to come out and announce your relationship to him?"

Kushina then took a withdrawn look and shook her head. "No. That wouldn't be fair to him. I will reveal myself but not so hastily. I'd like to get to know him first. Kurenai has given me some tidbits on his personality, some of which I found, to my amusement; are very much like my own."

Sarutobi nodded, "He looks like Minato, yet embodies your spirit."

Kushina smiled at that.

"Besides that, will you be taking your Jonin status in the village once more?"

Kushina nodded. "Yes, but I'd like to teach at the academy, if I could. If memories serve me right, you're still using a male teacher for the Kunoichi's class, right?"

Sarutobi looked away and nodded.

Kushina smirked as she rested her chin onto her propped up hand. "Somethings never change."

Sarutobi coughed and then looked to Rin, who hadn't spoken yet but just observed.

"And you Rin?"

The meek woman looked down for a moment before looking up, "I'd like to work with a cell, like Kakashi's doing, if I may."

Sarutobi nodded, "That'll be fine, but the next graduates won't be coming out till next month, right after the Chuunin Exams."

"Will Konoha be hosting them this year?" Asked Rin.

Sarutobi nodded and he turned back to Kushina. "Kakashi tells me that after they come back from their mission, he's going to nominate his group to participate."

Kushina nodded, "I'll be excited to see Naruto perform. Even though I think he's still too young for it all."

Sarutobi smiled, "Since I have you here, I can show you the report Kakashi gave on their trip to the Land of Waves."

Kushina brightened and both she and Rin listened as the Third Hokage brought out the report Kakashi had made and told them of Naruto and his team's exploits on that mission.

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It took a lot to surprise Kakashi. He had thought it would take even more for his students to surprise him. However, during their trip, they had managed to find their targets a lot sooner due to a plan his three student shad came up with during their travel to the area between Kusa and the borderline to Fire Country.

The three had devised a plan where they'd survey a traveling medical caravan and look for any signs that its destination was was to be driven off. Should this fail, they would try another one. But, seeing as how all caravans went the same route to reach the pocketed farming communities where the medical supplies was to be distributed, it really seemed the best bet to just follow one. the three would observe from different angles and they would send a signal through the paper cranes Sakura had made, which they would lace with their chakra to fly out into the air; thus giving the signal.

No later than an hour had the first bird made its asent into the early afternoon's sky. Two more followed seconds later. The team then quickly converged on the three waiting to ambush the caravan. From what Kakashi could tell, Sasuke was the first to subdue his target as he had struck the back of the man's neck from behind, sending him into unconsciousness. Naruto was quick to follow as he had three Kage Bushins tackle his opponent and then quickly tie him up and gagged him. Sakura was a little slower, though, what she lacked in strength, she had made up with cunning. She had laid out a false ground and had used a genjutsu to have the man go in the wrong direction, thus leading him falling directly into the pit. She then had struck him with a senbon needle laced with a sleeping compound. In no less than than six minutes, they had achieved their objective.

Kakashi was impressed. The three that stood before him were different than those who barely managed to pass his 'bell test'. The way they had devised their plan and how they executed it, affirmed Kakashi's prior belief that they were ready for the Chuunin Exams.

Upon securing all three of the highway robbers, the four of them led them back to Kusa to where they'd be imprisoned. Upon leaving, Kakashi noticed that his students' moods seemed a little down.

"Why the long faces?" He asked.

At first, none of them spoke. Naruto, of course, was finally the first to convey his feelings.

"This was a little disappointing, sensei. I was hoping for someone like Zabuza to go against out here. Not chumps like these."

Sasuke nodded, "He's right. I think the Hokage must have mislabeled this mission. It seemed like a low C-ranked one than a B."

Kakashi sighed, "Well, you may be right to be disappointed. But I think you three shouldn't be so eager to come across every A ranked Missing-Nin out there. Take it from a man whose hunted down the worst of the worst, it's good to get the weaker ones out of the way and it helps develop your skills, despite how petty they may seem."

Both Naruto and Sasuke grunted, but didn't say anything more.

Kakashi looked to Sakura who he had noticed didn't give her opinion and had remained quiet after capturing her target.

"How about you Sakura? Are you like these two and feel cheapened by all this?"

Sakura looked to Kakashi as if she suddenly realized he was talking to her. "Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, I guess."

Kakashi sighed and shook his head, bemusedly. As they continued on the path leading to the borderline to Fire Country, Kakashi took another glance at Sakura as he recalled of what had happened earlier this morning...

_Kakashi was surprised, no doubt so were the other two, as they gaped at Naruto coming in, in an entirely new set of clothes._

_" Uh, Naruto? What happened to your jumpsuit?" Kakashi asked._

_Naruto rubbed the back of his head and grinned. " Well, you see, It got torn during a match I had so I had to replace it.""_

_Kakashi was surprised as he had thought Naruto, who usually stuck with what he liked, would have chosen to go with another jumpsuit. Seeing as how he was dressed, which was a lot better in terms of not standing out, as opposed to the loud orange color he usually wore; Kakashi wondered if, after having lost the Kyuubi, if Naruto's personality had changed because of it._

_The looks on his other students pretty much mirrored his own, if not more so. _

_" So you finally ditched that stupid jumpsuit, eh dobe?" Sasuke said, smirking._

_Sakura said nothing and just turned away._

_Naruto seemed to notice. "Is everything alright, Sakura?"_

_Sakura turned back and gave a smile, " Yeah, of course it is." She then turned to Kakashi. " Shouldn't we get a move on, now?"_

_Kakashi nodded and had them follow with him to Konoha's gates._  
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Kakashi wondered what had caused Sakura to do that. He had thought that their discussion yesterday had brought her around to her teammate, but maybe it wasn't enough. However, something told him that may not be the case as she had seemed to be her usual self once the three of them were devising a strategy to capture the highway robbers. So if she wasn't still uneasy about Naruto's situation, then what?

Kakashi allowed those thoughts to be unanswered as he led the team into Fire Country.

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Tenten was having a bad day. between having to put up with her sensei's, andLee's, outbursts and then go through Neji's training regime for himself; she often wondered if she really had an importance to her team. So far, she has felt that she's been only useful in making sure the rest of them were up to speed. Gai-sensei had tried on occasions to give her guidance, but that was last year when the team was formed. Ever since then, he seemed to be reluctant to help her out as his knowledge, and use, of hand weapons were limited as he was a taijutsu specialist.

Now, as if to add more insult to in jury, Tenten's team were brought forth to the Hokage's office where he asked Gai to spare one of his team to help show around a recently returned shinobi. Gai, at first thought about his three students drawing lots to choose who among them would do this task. However, Lee piped up reminding Gai that he needed to teach him some stances that he promised. Neji stated that he wouldn't be able to have the time as Hiashi was going to teach him later this afternoon. So, having no prior obligations to get her out of this; it all led to Tenten having the duty to lead, whomever it was around Konoha.

Tenten stood outside of a local Inn where she was supposed to meet with the shinobi she was going to show around, thinking mutinous thoughts. Luckily, those thoughts were lost as she replaced them of her time with Naruto and the time they had together yesterday.

That had been one of the best days of her life. Naruto had treated her like a real shinobi and not some silly little Kunoichi that he had to be careful with so that he wouldn't hurt her. Their match had been the best exercise and the best way to fully utilize her skills. she had enjoyed thoroughly.

It was rather funny, to her, that it had been with the village's pariah. The boy people just to gossip about as he would perform one prank after another.

Tenten frowned at that. She hated the fact that people were so quick to judge him and never took the time to get to know him to really have an informed opinion. They just went with the flow. They didn't know how kind he was, how generous, how uplifting... Her thoughts, then, went to the image of how he looked in the skin-tight wire-meshed shirt she had picked out for him yesterday.

Tenten's eyes widened and she shook her head as a blush appeared on her face. 'What on earth, was that about?' She asked herself.

She looked away as she asked herself, "Do I really think of Naruto as that?"

"As what?" Said a voice in front of her.

Tenten turned on the spot as was met by a tall woman with long ox blood-colored hair and striking forest-green eyes.

Tenten snapped herself away as she realized the woman had asked her a question. "Uh, nothing, never mind."

The woman smirked as she nodded. "Alright. Are you the one who's supposed to show me around? Not that I really need it, but a lot has changed, probably, in twelve years here, I guess."

Tenten nodded and then looked surprise. "Twelve years?"

The woman nodded. "Yup." She then extended her hand. "I'm Kushina, by the way."

Tenten nodded as she took her hand. "Aramasachi Tenten, but please, just call me Tenten."

Kushina nodded. "Well, Tenten, I was wondering if you could show me to the Academy first since I'll be working there as of tomorrow."

Tenten looked surprised. "You'll be teaching at the Academy?"

Kushina nodded. "I'm going to replace them male teaching staff for the Kunoichis."

Tenten brought forth a big smile to this. "That's great! Finally, the Kunoichis will be taught something other than pouring tea and flower picking."

Kushin smiled and nodded. "I see you weren't a big fan of the class either, am I right?"

Tenten nodded, "It was the poorest excuse for a class and sadly it degrades Kunoichis that want to be taken seriously."

To Tenten's surprise, Kushina put her arm around her shoulders and smirked. "I think I'm going to like you, you know?"

Tenten couldn't help but smile back in return and she nodded. Tenten showed Kushina to the Academy and, along the way, Kushina began to tell Tenten all her experiences and grievences going through the Kunoichi classes. After that, she was beginning to tell her what her plans were for changing the classes when a loud ruckus came from one of the classrooms followed by some loud shouting.

"Anko! Will you cut it out! I need to grade these papers!" Said a male voice.

"Oh come one, Iruka, you work too hard. I know! Let's go out for some dango! Come on, what do you say, big boy?" Said a very loud woman's voice.

"H-Hey! Don 't put your hands there!"

While Tenten just stared in confusion, Kushina, beside her was holding her sides as she was laughing her ass off.

Her laughter seemed to catch the attention of those in the class room as two figures emerged. One, Tenten recognized as her former instructor Iruka, the other,a purple haired woman wearing a revealing wire-meshed outfit with nothing underneath draped over by a black coat; she didn't know.

As soon as the two caught site of them, the purple haired woman seemed to be startled and was whispering.

"K-Kushina?"

Kushina wiped some tears away from her eyes as she nodded and smiled.

Iruka turned to Anko. "Who is this?"

Anko was about to explain when she noticed the look on Kushina's face, meaning for her to keep quiet. Anko then sighed and rested her hands against her hips.

"Iruka, pet, this is an old friend of mine, Kushina."

Iruka nodded outwardly to Kushina and the two exchanged handshakes. Iruka then noticed Tenten and smiled.

"Hey there, Tenten. Giving her the tour of the Academy?"

Tenten nodded. "She's going to be teaching here soon for the Kunoichi classes."

Iruka looked to Kushina again, surprised.

"Finally!" Anko moaned as she smirked. "Hopefully you'll throw out those kami-awful tea sets."

Kushina grinned, devilishly. "Actually, I was planning on having the students set them on fire."

Both her and Anko shared some evil giggles while Iruka and Tenten looked a little nervous at the pair. Once that was done, Anko leaned on Iruka's shoulder, playfully.

"So, are you staying for good this time? I really miss my drinking buddy and Ibiki's become a light weight."

Kushina nodded, "Sounds like fun. Rin's back too, you know."

Anko's eyes went wide and a smile appeared on her face. "Where is she?"

"She's still sleeping, I think, at the the Inn."

Anko's face then went into a devilish glee, she turned to Iruka and patted him on the shoulder. "We're going to have to hold on that dango-date, teacher boy. I need to catch up with another old friend." With that, she quickly bounded out of the hallway and out of sight.

As soon as she was gone, Iruka heaved out a sigh. He looked to Kushina. "Thank you for that."

Kushina nodded, though she too had a look of mischievousness on her. "I know Anko. I guess you're her new "pet"."

Iruka scratched the back of his neck, nervously. "I-I guess."

Iruka then joined Tenten in showing Kushina around, then, when they were done; Iruka asked if he could get together with Kushina to discuss a schedual plan. They agreed on meeting in his classroom the following day.

After saying their goodbyes to him, Tenten and Kushina headed out and then Kushina, once again, put her arm around Tenten's shoulders. "So, tell me, Tenten. Is, uh, Ichiraku's still in business?"

Tenten nodded.

Kushina let out a sigh as a broad grin spread across her face. "It's one of the places here I miss the most."

"I like it." Tenten commented, smiling. "Would you like to go and get something to eat, Kushina-san?"

Kushina nodded and the two proceeded forth but before they were a block away from the ramen shack, they heard a commotion in the street in front of them as a blond haired boy was on the ground cradling his head as there were shards of glass in his hair and a wound that was bleeding. He pointed accusingly at a man who was swaggering, obviously drunk, who held the neck of a bottle of sake that was broken on the bottom.

"What the hell was that for?!" The blond boy shout at him.

"Damn...*hic*...demon..." The man slurred.

The boy growled as he slammed his fist against the ground. "I'm not a DEMON anymore!"

The drunk was obviously so far gone that he responded curtly. "I don't care. You'll, *hic*, always be a demon in my eyes since you, *hic*, killed my family all those years ago."

The blond boy didn't respond as his eyes looked down, ashamedly.

Tenten immediately ran forward as she realized who he was. "Naruto! Are you alright!"

Naruto looked up and seemed to be happier upon seeing her. He nodded but before he could fully get up from the ground, the man's broken bottle, once again, came down onto his his head.

"S-Stay d...down, demon." The drunk said, hiccing once more. He didn't say much else as a red blur came in front of him and he was slammed into the side of the building.

Before him was a woman with long red hair, her eyes alive with hatred, and clutched in her hands was a long metal pole with two blades on the ends. She pointed the tip of her blade to the man's throat.

"Don't...you...ever...touch that boy again. Do I make myself clear?" She said, her voice thin and icy.

The man's anger and stupidity got the better of him. "Who the hell are you to tell me what to do! He's a demon! I don't care what the Hokage said, the bastard has got to pay for-" His last words never got out as she had roughly struck him across the side with her staff, a long cut appeared down his face. He looked back at her with fear now, his bottom lip trembling.

"Think carefully on what you're going to say next." She said, her tone remaining the same as before.

Then, a pair of ANBU arrived and picked the man up by the collar of his robe. "We'll take it from here, ma'am." One said.

Kushina glared daggers at the men, causing one to shift, slightly.

"About time you showed up. Enjoying the show, were you?"

Neither masked men spoke and they disappeared with the man as quick as they had came in.

Kushina sighed rubbing her head before turning back to the two youths who were looking at her with a mixture of surprise and admiration. Kushina smiled.

"Well, that was exciting for my second day back here. You alright, kid?" She asked Naruto.

Naruto nodded. the sides of his face were covered in blood and his hair was matted with some as well. He accepted both women's help to get him up as he was feeling light-headed from the blows the man had given him. Leaning most of his weight onto Tenten, Naruto looked up at the red haired woman.

"Thank you for what you did. Uh, who are you?"

Kushina thought for a moment before sighing. "Well, to tell the truth, I'm-" she stopped as she felt she should reconsider telling him today as the boy's eyes were closing and reopneing several times. Kushina, then waived a hand, "I'll tell you later. Right now, let's get you cleaned up, alright?"

Naruto nodded as he continued to be supported by Tenten as the three of them went to an outside barbershop in the district and asked the man if they could use the water basil to wash off Naruto's blood and get him cleaned up.

The barber gave his permission, provided that they clean and sanitize the basin afterwards. The two girls then took some wash rags and procceeded to remove the blood stains from his face hand head. Naruto, at first, protested against them doing this as he felt he could do it himself. However, his coordination was a little jumbled and he couldn't really focus on where to clean so, in the end; the women were left with the task.

Kushina had finished first with his head and was now applying some light bandages and wraps to it. Tenten was still in the process of cleaning Naruto's face. She stopped as her fingernail accidentally caught hold of one of six peculiar scab lines that ran diagonally from his cheek to the corner of his jaw on both sides of his face. Her fingernail had managed to lift the scab up and, what was underneath, caused Tenten to immediately drop her rag.

"Naruto?" She asked, still fixed on his face.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"How...How did you get these scabs on your face?"

Naruto thought for a moment. "Well, I thought they were smudges like before but, during our mission today I found out they were scabs. Why do you ask?"

Tenten looked to Kushina to see if she was seeing what Tenten was seeing. In Tenten's fingers was the long strand of scab that had come off Naruto's face. Where it had once been was now a perfectly plue line that seemed to shimmer.

Kushina slowly touched the other scab lines and brought them away to reveal the other five 'blue' lines on Naruto's face, three on each side.

Tenten noticed that Kushina's eyes were wide and her lower lip was quivering, forming words that didn't come out.

Naruto, now, looked really worried. "What? What is it?"

Seeing as how Kushina wasn't going to speak anytime soon, Tenten brought forth a mirror from her pouch that she used to survey behind objects, to show Naruto what they were seeing.

Naruto took hold of the mirror and looked at himself. His eyes went inexplicably wide his hand immediately went to to the lines on his face and he found the lines to be cool to the touch.

"W-What is t-this?" He asked.

Tenten shrugged as she didn't have a clue.

"It's your heritage, Naruto."

Both of them turned to Kushina, whose face had a soft but worried smile on it.

"My heritage?" Naruto asked with a confused expression.

Kushina nodded. "Uzumaki males are the ones to usually inherit them just after their twelth birthdays. Uzumaki Jinto was the last."

Naruto blinked. "Uzumaki...Jinto?"

Kushina nodded. "Aye. Your grandfather... my father."

Tenten, this time gaped at the woman in surprise and confusion. "Then, then that means..."

Kushina nodded as she was till looking at Naruto. "I'm your mother, Naruto."

To Be Continued.....

A/N: Just so we're clear, Kushina hadn't expected for this to happen to Naruto so suddenly, as she'll explain in the next chapter. So, that's why she went back on what she was planning to do and told Naruto she was his mother sooner than she had planned. The back story on Kushina's being exiled, Sakura's recent attitude, and Naruto's marks and heritage will be the main focus of the next chapter. I'm finding myself needing an antagonist for this story, yet I'm also wondering if it's needed at all to begin with. Drop me a line, if you like on your thoughts on this. Oh, also, in case some people took her actions to mean something else other then being playful; Kushina is not bi, so there. I'm wondering if I should pair her off with someone. Gai maybe? just kidding.

Q-n-P


	6. Cold Comfort

**Chapter Six: Cold Comfort**

Naruto hadn't moved from the spot he was in, slouched against the ground, his hands still on his unfamiliar face. Before him, one girl who looked between them both with a mixture of surprise and concern, the other...a withdrawn look.

'My...My mother?' Naruto repeated the words over and over again inside his mind. His look of astonishment, however, changed to that of annoyance.

"You're NOT my mother, lady." He said in a low voice as he slowly made his way back onto his feet again.

Tenten didn't apeak but just looked at him with concern. She looked to Kushina, who just sighed.

"It's the truth." She said, plainly.

Naruto shook his head. "The Old Man, The Thrid Hokage, told me that my parents were killed in the Kyuubi's attack, here, twelve years ago. I have every right to believe him, I don't have any to believe you."

Kushina smirked. "You'd believed anything that man tells you, am I right?"

Naruto nodded and then turned away from her and began walking away.

"What if he told you himself? Would that be all there is to convince you?" She called out to him. "I know more to what's going on with that face of yours and how it's going to affect you in the future, gaki."

Naruto turned back to her and scowled. "You know, "mom", you're not winning over my favor by saying things like that."

Kushina crossed her arms and continued on smirking. "That's the way things are, Naruto. Question is, are you ready for them?"

Naruto held his frown. "You're NOT my mother! My mother's dead!" With that he turned and leapt away.

"Naruto, wait!" Called Tenten. She then sighed and turned back to Kushina. "You're not lying, are you? He's been in enough pain already because of what others have said to him. I don't want to see him hurt more because of this."

Kushina raised an eyebrow at the young kunoichi. "You really like him, don't you?"

Tenten's face erupted into a blush and she turned away. "It's...It's not like that. I...I just worry about him."

Kushina sighed. "Well, I can see why Sarutobi did as did with telling Naruto a story of his parents fighting and dying to protect this village. That part is partially true. Naruto's dad did die because of the Kyuubi and I, well, that's a story I want to tell Naruto myself when I have a chance to talk to him alone."

Tenten sighed. "You seem like a nice enough person, Kushina-san. I'll see if I can get him around to come and talk to you. No promises though."

Kushina smiled. "Thanks, I'd appreciate that."

Tenten nodded and then she quickly went out of sight.

Once she had left, Kushina stood there and then held her hands to her elbows and turned her face away as tears eclipsed her face. 'I'm sorry, Naruto.'

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Naruto sat in his apartment with his body slumped against the wall, his hand against his head, which then slipped down as he thoughtfully grazed the cold marks on one side of his face, thoughtfully.

So many things happened today, amny to which we he didn't like. First, as he thought he was finally free from the predjudice and judgment from the village for having finally ridded himself from the damn demon that he had held inside himself, to have yet another person attack him out of hate of what had been done in the past. It wasn't anything new, in retrospect. He had gotten used to being despised by the people, but, after having lost the reason for people to initially hate him, and to be accepted by some over the past couple of day; he thought those days were finally over. A side of Naruto felt that things may never change as people clung to the comfort that he was a person they could easily blame, and maybe nothing would ever change that.

Brushing his fingers against the markings, he thought of his new delima. If those accursed wisker marks were'nt enough to make him stand out, these certainly would make it more so. Which also led to a new discomfort. The person who claimed she could help him understand these markings was the same person who was claiming to be his "mother". That itself made him feel even more confused and troubled. After all, he HAD been told that his parents were dead. What reason would there have been to lie to him about such an important thing? He knew that thye had kept the Kyuubi hidden from him, another sour subject, and he had forgiven them for that. But this...He really couldn't make sense of this and it still seemed too incredulous to be plausible.

Naruto sunk his head and sighed before making the effort to get back onto his feet once more. Once standing, he began to wonder what he should do now? Maybe he could go see Kakashi-sensei as he might have an idea as to what these things on his face were. He knew he didn't want to see that woman again...at least, not until someone could explain some things to him first and could tell him who she really was.

Naruto's thoughts were interrupted when a knock came to his door.

"Naruto?"

Naruto smiled as he recognized the voice.

"Yeah, Tenten?"

"Um, are you alright?"

Naruto sighed out of tiredness as he walked to the door and opened it. Tenten stood there, hands behind her back, looking at him concernedly.

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know, really."

Tenten then reached out and, to his surprise, took his hand. "Anything I can do? I'm not sure what, but if you tell me I might be able to do something."

Naruto, still staring at the fact she was holding his hand, tore his eyes away and looked at her. He smiled. "Thanks, Tenten."

Tenten smiled and nodded.

The two left his apartment and began wondering the streets, no destination in mind. they soon found themselves over at the training ground where they had sparred at one time. Both silently and privatly reflected on this with a smile. The two then went to a tree nearby and sat down, looking over the village nearby as the sun was setting.

Tenten watched Naruto from the corner of her eye, nervously as she bit down on her lip. Her thoughts, her emotions, all of them seemed to be going faster and faster whenever she was with this boy. Why? Why him? She only knew a fraction of everything there was to know about him, was that enough to make her feel this way?

Her teeth sunk harder against her lip as she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. She had no clue. Her mother never explained any of these things and she never felt inclined to ask her about it in the first place as she was always so concentrated on building up her abilities and proving herself as an able kunoichi. Never once had she dared to think up of any thing remotely romantic or lust full when it came to the boys in her life. Sure, there were some attractions, she wasn't THAT oblivious, but that's all there were. She never though further or pursued anything further than a passing glance. so why was she so fixated on Naruto?

Tenten looked at him. His sun-kissed blond hair, his deep cerulean eyes and had the warmth like the color remble of his hair, and the face that always brought forth a warm smirk. She then looked at his marks and how they rembled his eyes, if not a brighter yet softer color. In a way, they seemed to compliment them more as it attributed more to his warmth in appearence and personality.

Tenten hadn't realized she'd been staring at him with half-lidded eyes until Naruto turned to her with a questioning expression.

"Are you alright, Tenten? Your face is really red."

Tenten turned her face away and stared at the ground in embarrassment. She only turned back when she heard him sighing deeply.

"What am I going to do?" He said outloud as he grazed his markings again. "Some woman claims to be my mother, which I know isn't possible, and I have these "things"." He then turned to Tenten expectantly.

Tenten turned away. "I don't know, Naruto. But..." She sighed and then turned to him. "Kushina-san IS a nice person. I don't know whether or not she is telling the truth about her relationship with you, but if you go to the Hokage, maybe he could hgelp[ you sort all of this out."

Naruto nodded but sighed. "You know what I'm really afraid of?"

Tenten shook her head.

"I'm afraid that she's telling the truth."

Tenten blinked at him. Unsure as to what he had said. "You're afraid she's telling you the truth?"

Naruto nodded.

"Why?" She asked.

Naruto looked to the ground. "It would mean that she had left me all those years ago. That because.........That because of what was put in me made her hate me like so many others. That the only reason she's returned is that she heard it was no longer inside me."

Tenten gaped at him. "Naruto..."

Naruto sighed and got to his feet. "Well, I guess I better see the Old Man. Thanks for talking with me Tenten. I'll see you later." He then waived at her and then was gone in a flash.

Tenten remained where she was, just staring at where Naruto had been previously.

'Naruto...'

To be continued???

A/N: As most of you can tell, I'm having on hell of a problem writing this as I'm unsure as to where it'll go. At first, I had it in mind to make this as a "Naruto has a family bloodlimit" piece but then, getting caught up with his undefined relationship with Tenten, his mother's reappearence; I found myself lost in the thinking process as to where this story should go. I'm also working on two other stories and that too has made it difficult but not as difficult as losing track on where I wanted this story to go. Part of me wanted to pull Kushina out as I thought her part in this would be too much of a distraction as I wanted it to be a Narutenten story instead of a "long lost mother rejoins her son". I added way too much and now am floundering because of it. I'm going to put this on hold until I can decide on what to do with this story. I'll accept any recommendations you guys have.

Q-n-P


	7. Come Whatever May

**Chapter Seven: Come Whatever May**

Naruto paced back and forth outside of the Hokage's office, taking in little attention to the irritated grumble of the Chuunin secretary watching him.

Naruto's thoughts were heavy, yet they were few, as the most pressing recent events were the ones that were laying heavily on his mind.

Prior to coming, Naruto thought it be best to cover the sides of his face with bandages to offset any questions or uncomfortable stares that he might have received upon first glances.

Naruto sighed as he stopped in the midst of his pacing and set his body against the wall as he drew a hand up to his face.

These "marks" so far had no side effect other than their feeling upon being touched and their overall appearance. Yet, as with everything else in his life, he knew that sooner or later that these things were going to have some sort of outcome.

Naruto looked up hopefully as the door to the Hokage's office opened and several people filed out. He then looked expectantly at the secretary who sighed, mournfully, and then removed herself and went inside the Hokage's office to announce his being there. In the past, same said secretary would have done everything in her power to prevent Naruto from ever coming near the Hokage in an unscheduled time. yet, as the recent turn of events, her regard to him had been lifted and she treated him with less disdain but with the same amount of annoyance as before.

It wasn't long before she emerged back outside the office and nodded her head to him, clearing for him to enter.

Naruto nodded politely and went on through.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat back in his chair and puffed solemnly on his pipe as he watched Naruto come into his office. At first, he was happy upon seeing the dramatic change of wardrobe the boy had as a sign of things turning out for the better in his life. He then noticed the odd bandaged wrappings on the sides of the boy's face and then the air about him which made the Sandaime feel very cautious at the moment. Something was surely wrong, at the moment.

"Hello, Naruto. It's good to see you."

Naruto nodded politely, again, before placing himself in the chair in front of the Hokage.

At first, there was no further discussion made by the two of them. Naruto's eyes seemed firmly planted to the floor below him, his cerulean irises moving back and forth as it was obvious he was contemplating on what he was going to say.

Sarutobi, in an effort to disstill the air before things might turn to somewhat sour, smiled and commented, "I see you've updated your look. Those clothes look nice on you and make you seem older and confident. Very befitting for a shinobi on the rise."

Naruto's eyes snapped up and nodded before he sighed. "Tenten picked them out for me after a sparring match we had. My jumpsuit got trashed." He then looked down at what he was wearing and gave a small smile accompanied by a light shrug. "I actually like these."

Sarutobi nodded as he pulled out his pipe. He decided to get to the point as he had a feeling that the wrappings on Naruto's face were the reason, or the partial reason, as to why he came in today. He decided to be casual about addressing it.

"Those bandages on your face. Are they too an effort to update your appearance?"

Naruto sighed and shook his head before fingering the ends of the bandages and slowly removing them.

As soon as the first few strips were removed, Sarutobi's eyes widened at what appeared before him. Just two inches away from the slope of his nose, cutting down diagonally to the side of his jaw, Narutohad a shimmering sliver of a mark, roughly less than a quarter of an inch wide that shimmered almost in the same brilliant color of his eyes. Upon further removal of the rest of his wrappings, five others took their place, making three of these marks on each side of his face. In a way, it seemed that they were there in substitution for the absence of the wisker-marks that had previously donned his face, which led Sarutobi, at first to speculate as to whether or not that this last physical change was not something left over from the Kyuubi's absence.

However, other thoughts came to Sarutobi's mind, those of the boy's, unspoken, lineage.

"I see you've inherited them." He said in a low-toned voice.

Naruto's eyes scrunched up in annoyance but he soon closed them and breathed calmly. "I was hoping, Old Man, that you could tell me more about them and......what they might do."

Sarutobi nodded. Seeing as how Kushina must still not have contacted him yet, he could give a little knowledge to the boy about these before setting him in the right direction to her to gain more information.

"Those marks, Naruto, are your family's kekki genki; or rather, the Uzumaki's kekki genki, to be precise."

Naruto slowly nodded. "Why are they here now, of all times?"

Sarutobi put his hands on his desk and interlaced his fingers as he breathed deeply. "From what I understand, this particular kekki genki manifests only when the Uzumaki turns twelve, or some time after. The name of it is called "Mizuno kiramekusukooru (shimmering squall of water)" that's a nikutaijutsu (flesh/body jutsu). It enables you to utilize the air and moisture around you, manipulates it, and bends it specifically to your will. From what I gathered, those marks 'inhale' all the air and moisture surrounding it, thus giving you more to work with than what you would should you try to call upon the elements by normal methods."

Naruto'e eyes widened and they blinked owlishly. "Kekki genki? 'Mizuno kiramekusukooru'?"

Sarutobi sighed as he closed his eyes. He really wasn't prepared to explain all of this to him. He had hoped that Kushina, by now, would have approached the boy and explained all this herself. But, he wasn't called "The Professor" for nothing.

"Yes, Naruto, you have a kekki genki. Your, 'Mizuno', lets you overcome the handicap of not being near water to use water jutsus just by taking in vast amounts of moisture in the air. It also makes any wind jutsus, you use, more powerful."

This simplified version of the previous explanation made Naruto understand a lot better. However, as with every young mind, as with every other kind that had only gotten a fraction of the answer; it led to more questions.

"Ok, I think I get it. But how do I use it?"

Sarutobi sighed. "That, I can't answer. There is, however, another who can." To his surprise, Naruto's face grew stern.

"I can guess who're you're talking about." Naruto said, his eyes, once again, on the floor. "Let me guess, this 'person' has long red hair and claims to be my mother?"

There was silence as Sarutobi observed Naruto. He put his pipe down as he closed his eyes, taking in a breath of air before opening them slowly.

"So, you've met her?"

Naruto nodded and then let go of his anger as his eyes opened and he sighed. "Is what she said true?"

Sarutobi, wordlessly, nodded.

"Then....Then that means you lied to me? Why?"

There have been many instances, many reminders, that Sarutobi felt old and limited. But none of those stood out more than at this moment.

"Naruto..." He began carefully, "Some things are not as simple as they appear to be. Yes, I told you something completely different than it actually was. Your mother...was, is, in fact alive. The woman you met, Uzumaki Kushina, is your mother."

"But why! Why keep this from me!" Naruto was now standing, his whole body shaking. "I've been alone for so long, watched as kids had someone! I HAD NO ONE!" Naruto breathed in and out raggedly as he sniffled loudly, tears cascading down his face and causing the marks on his face to shimmer brightly, unbeknownst to the distraught blond.

"It's because of what I had in me, isn't it?" He whispered. He looked up with a hateful scowl as his clenched fists began to tremble. "That's why. She's only back because you or someone told her that it was gone."

Now it was Sarutobi's turn to scowl. "Do not presume to make assumptions lightly, Naruto. I suggest, before you start waving accusations, that you talk to all those considered." Sarutobi sighed as he got out of his seat and walked around to face Naruto. "You're right to feel angry, though. By keeping you away from her we caused you a disservice. One we may never be able to fully repay. To answer your question, or rather accusation; no, your mother DIDN'T leave because you had the demon within you. Rather, others forced her to leave because of her association with you and for another matter which I will not discuss here at this time."

Naruto's face lessened, a little, yet the eyes still remained firm. "Then why didn't she take me with her? I'm sure everyone would have been happier to know that I was far away instead of in the village."

Sarutobi sighed and looked up at Naruto with sad, aged, eyes. "Because...I ordered her to, Naruto. I felt....I felt that the 'Will of Fire' still remained in this village and its people would have treated you better than they did. I honestly thought they'd give you the chance to prove to them that the Yondaime's choice had been a right one and not to over look it and only see what you held at bay."

"But they didn't. I got cursed, spat on, occasionally had things thrown at me; no one would let me into their businesses and they never even let their children play with me." Naruto said, his voice shaking slightly.

Sarutobi sighed as his eyes went to the floor.

Neither of them spoke for a moment and then the secretary knocked on the door, which had both looking at it in surprise for the disturbance.

"Yes?" Sarutobi called out.

The door cracked open and the secretary popped her head in. "Hokage-sama, I have some forms here for you to sign for the security for the attending Kages in the Chuunin Exam."

Sarutobi nodded and when the secretary left, Naruto took the interruption as a sign that their meeting was over and began to walk to the door.

"Naruto?"

Naruto stopped but didn't turn around.

"Do you think you can forgive an old fool for his past mistakes?"

Naruto sighed and looked back over his shoulder at the Hokage with tired eyes. He smiled, reluctantly. "I guess, maybe."

"What of your mother?" Sarutobi asked, carefully.

Naruto shook his head. "I don't know her. But...Maybe in the future, but not right now."

Sarutobi sighed and nodded his head. He supposed that this would be the best for right now and dismissed Naruto.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Walking out of the tower, Naruto's thoughts wrapped around everything the Hokage told him and what may come later in the future. He still couldn't think of the woman he met earlier today as his mother. She didn't have that right, not yet anyways. He reluctantly knew that he'd have to spend sometime with her as his 'Mizuno' would be a huge factor in his life and he'd need to learn everything about it.

Naruto's thoughts were interrupted as he was walking when he spotted Tenten leaning against a side of the building, her own mind seemingly absorbed in her own thoughts.

Naruto smiled and bounded over to her.

"Hey, Tenten-chan!"

Once again, Tenten looked up and slightly blushed by the, still, unfamiliar suffix attachment to her name. Regardless, she smiled and walked forward to meet Naruto halfway.

"Hi, Naruto. How was the meeting with the Hokage? Do you feel any better?"

Naruto sighed and shook his head. "Not really, but at least, this time, I have more information than I had before." He then grinned and pointed to his face. "You know what these marls really are? It turns out I have a kekki genki!"

Tenten smiled. It was so good to see that smile of his once more brightly lit upon his face. "Really? What kind is it?"

Naruto took her hand and this time Tenten refrained from blushing as he led her down the street, talking a mile-a-minute about everything he learned from the Hokage.

The two reached Ichiraku's and had late early dinner before Naruto took her home. Both revealed to one another that they'd be participating in the Chuunin Exams in a couple of weeks.

"I hope to see you there, Tenten. It'd be awesome if the two of us became Chuunin!"

Tenten giggled at his enthusiasm. "Yeah, it'd be great. But come whatever may, it'd be nice to say that we did it, and that we did it with our all, right?"

Naruto nodded. "No regrets, I hear ya."

Tenten nodded. "Well, I'll see you around, Naruto-kun." She winked after saying the last part before turning back to the door of her house and then retreating inside.

Naruto, still standing at the threshold of her home, whispered.

"See ya around, Tenten-chan."

To be continued....

A/N: This chapter was to TRY to explain what Naruto's bloodline ability was and what it did as that was the most infuriating part for me to try to come up with. Regarding the suggestions I've received in reviews, I am going to be taking a back seat with Naruto and Kushina meetings and have them limited as to what pertains to plot and story development. Certainly, after the arrival of Jiraiya, her character will have a more prominent role, but until then it she'll be a background character.

As far as Tenten and Naruto's fledgling relationship's concerned, it'll still be in it's enduring innocent semi-platonic stage and won't go farther until a timeskip I have planned ahead.

I'll try to be updating this more often, but it'll be rather slow. Just bare with me.

Q-n-P


	8. Chuunin Wannabe Pt 1

**Chapter Eight: Chuunin Wannabe Pt.1**

Naruto was having a restless night. Having previously had a battle of words with the Old Man, he felt that he couldn't sleep. At first, he hoped it was due to the excitement of being able to participate in the Chuunin Exams, but the place his mind went to told him otherwise.

It went back to his discussion of his estranged mother with the Hokage.

Naruto felt better, at least on the surface. He still didn't know how he _should_be feeling after his little confrontation with the Hokage about the revelation that his mother had been alive all this time and she had left him for whatever reason.

It seemed that's what hurt the most. She had left him, left him to be the subject to a village's sorrow and wrath towards a demon that had been sealed inside himself without his knowledge.

For twelve bitter years he suffered and where was she?

Well _now_, she seemed to be back, apparently. Shouldn't he be happy that a mother that he craved to have for so long was now back and wanting be his family?

Naruto sighed as he turned over on his side, staring at the blank wall of his apartment.

More questions, no answers coming. Sure, he could go to her directly and ask these, but…

Naruto shook his head vigorously.

No. It could wait. After all, he had the Chuunin Exams to preoccupy his thoughts with. Meeting with _her_can wait until after. He needed to focus on the Chuunin Exams, on his teammates succeeding along with him, on being near Tenten, and-

Naruto sat up right, his eyes wide.

Where the hell did that last thought come from?!

* * *

The following day, Naruto and his team went to the building designated for those entering the Chuunin Exams. So far, nothing was out of the ordinary, with the exception of a pair of Chuunins that were blocking the entrance to the supposedly designated place for all Chuunin hopefuls to go to.

Sakura, being as observant as she was, pointed out the clever use of the genjutsu over the area making those who weren't that observant to realize that they were still on the second floor when they needed to reach the room on the third.

Thus, the team walked by with no problem and proceeded above to the third floor.

Upon reaching the floor, they opened the room's door to find the place nearly packed with the foreign Genin that had come to participate in this year's exam. Most of these said shinobi scowled and sneered at the sight of the younger participants.

Naruto gulped as he felt a slight killing intent radiating somewhere in the room that was directed at the three of them.

"Do you get the feeling that they don't want us here?" Sakura whispered to Sasuke.

Sasuke merely grunted and returned a few of the glares being sent at them.

"Naruto!"

The three of them turned to see Tenten, followed slowly by her team, coming up and taking Naruto's hands into her own, her eyes alive in excitement.

"You're here! I was afraid when you said that you and your team were going to participate, that that was just you being hopeful!"

Both Sasuke and Sakura stared at the girl, who they've never met and, in turn, looked expectantly at their blonde haired teammate for an answer or at least an introduction.

Naruto just stared at his hand still being clasped in Tenten's for a moment but then shrugged off whatever was on his mind before answering the girl's question. Giving off his patented fox-like grin, he scratched the back of head with his free hand.

"Nah, I'd never fib about something like this! We're ready and we're going to dominate this thing! Dattebayo!"

With the exception of Naruto, Tenten, and Lee; all others sweat-dropped at this proclamation.

"Tenten, how long are you going to be holding onto his hand like that? I'm sure he's going to be needing it later for patting himself on the back." Smirked Neji; who Naruto scowled at in return.

Tenten, looking down at her hands and realizing what she had done, removed her hands slowly while giving off a slight blush which quickly disappeared.

"Sorry, about that." She said in a low tone.

Naruto looked at her in confusion. "Why?"

Before Tenten could answer, more people arrived in the room, most of whom where the rest of Naruto's classmates.

"So, you're here too, eh baka?" Said a boy whose face was marked by red clan marks and had a yipping puppy on top of his head.

"What was that, dog-breath?" Naruto scowled at said boy.

"K-Kiba-kun, that's n-not very nice to s-say." A meek voice came out.

Kiba ignored the reprimand and instead looked at Naruto as he brought his face closer and then pointed a sharp, claw-like finger at the boy's face.

"What's with your face, dobe?"

Naruto, again scowling, was about to retort when Tenten, for some reason, stepped in between the two of them and planted her fists on her hips as she too scowled at the Inuzuka.

"What's with yours? It looks like you have been rubbing it in dog crap."

A fit of laughter and snickering broke out, with the exception of Hinata, who just tapped her index fingers together; while Kiba turned bright red and gritted his teeth while looking narrowingly at Tenten.

"What'd you say!" He shouted.

"Basically what everyone else thinks. Glad I'm not the only one." Neji said, smirking all the more at the look of unbridled fury on the boy's face. However, Kiba then smirked again as he looked past Tenten to Naruto and then in front at Tenten.

"Oh, _I'm sorry_. Forgive me." He said sarcastically. "I didn't mean to pick on your _boyfriend_ when he can't defend himself. I didn't know."

Tenten turned a bright red color, Hinata fainted, and all eyes of the Konoha Genin went wide with the exception of Tenten's teammates.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted, "I can too stand up for myself, you flea-infested mongrel!"

Tenten spun around and starred at Naruto, as did a few others. Neji and Lee, in the meantime, just smirked at Tenten.

Naruto soon realized, with the exception of Kiba, Neji, and Lee; all eyes were on him, staring.

"What?" He asked.

Thankfully, he was spared as a loud voice entered the room.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke was immediately glomped by a blonde blur followed by two more figures entering the room. Sasuke, now on the floor, was trying his best to remove Ino as she was nuzzling her face into his chest.

"Ino-pig! Let go of Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted.

While the two fan girls bickered back and forth, Tenten took the moment to grab Naruto by the scruff of his jacket and lead him away from the mayhem to an unoccupied area of the room. Once there, she let go of him and tried to do her best scowl as she was about to scold him for not realizing that he basically made it looked like that the two of them were a couple by not denying Kiba's insinuation. However, she stopped herself as she knew _she_didn't outright deny the insinuation either. Looking at Naruto's clueless look as to why he was dragged away, and also the fact that he didn't realize he was being ribbed by Kiba with his insinuation to his and Tenten's relationship; Tenten sighed inwardly as she scolded herself for not remembering just who Naruto was and how clueless he was to social normalcy's.

She hadn't realize how long the two of them had been standing there with no given explanation as to why she had dragged him away from the group.

"Uh, Tenten-chan?" Naruto asked.

Tenten snapped herself back from her thoughts as she looked at her shorter friend.

"Oh, uh, sorry about that." She looked away as she rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed. "I just, well…."

Naruto cocked his head to the side, observing her curiously. He then looked past her to the group, which now had an additional member. An older boy sporting round glasses was squatting down on the floor with some cards of some sort and showing them to the rest of the Konoha members.

Naruto looked back at Tenten, sure that she had something important to say.

Tenten sighed as she looked back at Naruto, shrugging.

"I guess it's not important, really." She then made to turn away and go back to her teammates when she felt a hand take a gentle hold of her retreating arm. Turning, she found the hand belonging to Naruto as he gave a soft smile towards her.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Well," Naruto began. "Actually, I have something I'd like to say to you."

She nodded and waited for his answer. He then smiled at her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Good luck, Tenten-chan. Be safe in all this, alright? Let's both become Chuunin at the end of all this!"

Tenten, at first, looked at Naruto, confused. She couldn't really think of a reason for him to say those things to her. After all, they were just starting to become friends and haven't really spent that much time together, part of the reason for her reaction to Kiba's insinuation and Naruto's obliviousness towards the implications of him not denying the claim. However, seeing that idiotic, childish, grin on him, accented by his blue-streaked clan marks on his cheeks that matched his eyes; made Tenten smile as she knew, without a doubt who Naruto Uzumaki was and, most importantly, how kind he was.

"Thank you, Naruto. You be safe too and good luck to you and your teammates." Then, Tenten did something that happened so quickly, that, if thought about beforehand, she might have never done.

She leaned in close to Naruto and gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

Tenten, then, soon parted and went back to her teammates, leaving Naruto standing there with in a state of bewilderment.

To be continued….

A/N: I know that this chapter was short and uneventful, well uneventful for those not wanting to see a Naruten moment but I felt this chapter was needed, for some reason.

I'm going to be skipping the whole psychological/test of the Chuunin Exams and go straight into the Forest of Death portion next.

So hang tight. I don't know when I'll be able to update this next, but, hopefully, it'll be soon enough, fair readers.

Q-n-P


	9. Chuunin Wannabe Pt 2

Chapter Nine: Chuunin Wannabe Pt 2

So far, Naruto had found the Chuunin Exams to be not exactly what he had been hoping; at least considering the first portion of the exam itself.

In the first part of the exam, the Chuunin wannabes were subjected to a test of cunning, stealth, and skill; as they were pitted against the proctor of the exam, Morino Ibiki, and the various Chuunins either in disguise as other students or as side-proctors that graded them on their ability to cheat without getting caught.

During the whole course of the first portion, however, Naruto had found himself looking off towards Tenten's location whilst absent-mindedly touching the portion of his cheek that she had placed her lips on momentarily, earlier.

His mind could not comprehend the action that had taken place nor the sensation he was feeling now. It was all alien, to him. Yet, it was intoxicating in its after effects.

Naruto grinned in his suedo-inebriated state of mind; his dazed like expression catching the eyes of many of the proctors assigned to catch cheaters and grading them accordingly. Time had passed faster then he had realized and soon enough, Ibiki called a halt to everybody's testing and announced that it was time for the final tenth question.

Naruto, in a state of panic, snapped out of his stupor and realized that he had yet to answer a single question on the test. However, his mood changed as Ibiki called forth anyone who wished to abandon the exams as if they or their team had decided to take the question and failed then their chances of retaking the Chuunin Exams would become null from here on in.

Naruto scowled at the heavily scarred proctor/Konoha interrogator as he slowly raised his hand only to slam it down on the desk and called out the hidden challenge that the man was posing to everybody; stubbornly stating that he'd never back down, despite the danger of never being able to enter the Chuunin Exams again. To his amazement, it turned out that there actually was no tenth question and that it was all about how committed the entries were in completing a task when it may be possible that their lives and reputation would be put on the line. Ibiki demonstrated by removing his bandanna and hitae-ate from his head, showing everyone what they could look forward to should a mission turn for the worst. After his explanation, he announced that the first portion of the Chuunin Exams was complete.

The Forest of Death, so aptly named, was the next part of the Chuunin Exams. It was revealed to them during the end of the first exam when a woman going by the name of Anko Mitarashi, came crashing in through the window and displaying a sign behind her announcing herself as the proctor of the next exam.

The scantily-clad masochist grinned evilly as she explained to the timid Genin that they were to obtain two types of scrolls, one the Heaven, the other Earth. It was explained further that each team would have either one or the other and that the objective was to get the other by any means necessary. Killing a team was allowed.

Naruto gulped as he realized that the stakes to become Chuunin had been raised higher as it became clear that those he considered friends, or at least those he'd been in either friendly or familiar terms with; could very well be pitted against him and his team in order to get the heavily revered scroll they needed. Naruto's eyes looked for Tenten, hoping to get a glimpse of her and see what her impression of this was.

He didn't have long to search for as a hand gripped him by the elbow and he spun around to see that it was Tenten holding him by the grip, her face donning a sad expression.

Naruto, masking his earlier fears, grinned while placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Relax, Tenten-chan. I'm sure it'll be alright. How about this, if either of our teams come across each other, it'll be under a flag of truce as we'll not attack each other. Instead, we'll work together and help each other to get the scrolls we need."

Tenten smiled as she nodded, silently.

Tenten's teammates, however, who were right behind her; each had a different reaction to Naruto's speech.

"If fate were kind, you would not need our help, Uzumaki. But as helpless as you and your team are, and for Tenten's silly, unreasonable, admiration for you; I guess we'll help you." Neji sneered.

Naruto scowled at the older boy, Tenten doing likewise for Neji's jib at her.

Lee, however, raised a thumb's up, grinning.

"Yosh! Let all of our Flames burn brightly throughout this exam! We shall help each other, or I shall run all the way through the forest doing a hand stand on my knuckles!"

All three sweat-dropped at that proclamation.

"Naruto-baka! Sasuke-kun is getting impatient waiting for you! They're about to pass out our scroll! Get over here now!" A familiar voice shouted over their way.

Tenten scowled in the direction in which the voice came from whilst Neji smirked.

Naruto sighed and looked apologetically towards Tenten.

"I'll see ya at the tower, Tenten-chan. Be safe." He then smiled at her and gave her a small hug before turning around and running towards the direction of Sakura and Sasuke.

Tenten watched him leave for longer than she had intended as, soon, Neji came to her and nudged her.

"We've got our scroll and our designated gate; pine for the loudmouth later. We need to get going."

Tenten sighed and nodded before joining her team and heading towards their gate.

It had been an hour since Naruto and his team had entered the Forest of Death. Since then, Sasuke had decided for the team that they should come up with a code phrase that would eliminate the risk of someone posing as someone from their group. The one that he came up with, was one Naruto, for the life of him, could not remember even if his life depended on it.

Thinking on it more, perhaps that was Sasuke's point. Anything Naruto couldn't remember, which for some reason Sasuke and Sakura could; was the whole reason for coming up with something like that as they figured he'd be the most likely to be impersonated.

Naruto scowled at that thought. Why was _he_always ousted as the most likely to get in trouble; why weren't Sauske or Sakura ever considered? I mean, they too had a chance of getting in trouble in some way or another.

Naruto sighed loudly as he rubbed his eyes tiredly with his fingers. Those same fingers drifted down from his eyes to the blazing blue marks on his cheeks. His thoughts drifted also from his earlier thoughts to those clan marks. Reaching into the left pocket of his trench coat's jacket, Naruto brought out three scrolls that Kakashi had given him earlier.

_==Flashback no jutsu==_

_Naruto, happily walking back to his apartment after talking with Tenten, was suddenly stopped by a 'poofing' sound that symbolized someone appearing from nowhere and then he heard his sensei's voice._

"_Yo, Naruto!"_

_Turing around, Naruto found his sensei walking towards him with three scrolls in his hands._

"_What is it, Kakashi-sensei? I've told you that I'm not backing down from taking the Chuunin Exams."_

_Kakashi gave his patented eye-smile as he waived his free hand in front of him dismissively. _

"_Nah, nah, that's not why I'm here. I know you're going in, which I'm proud of, by the way; no, the reason I'm here is to give you these as they'll help you a little with you're clan's abilities." He then held out the three scrolls for Naruto to take._

_Naruto looked at his teacher curiously as he accepted the scrolls._

"_What are these, Sensei?"_

"_Well, considering how your, "Mizuno", utilizes all airborne condensation and uses it to compensate for the lack of nearby water; I thought it only proper to give you some mizu jutsu scrolls so you can learn how to use them when the time comes. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to teach these to you before hand, but with putting yours, and your teammates, names in for the Chuunin Exams; I wouldn't have had any time to train you in these."_

_Naruto sighed and nodded, understanding._

"_So, you're going to have to find a moment, if you can, in some point in the exam to study these and possibly practice them. I doubt you'll be entirely proficient in executing these, but the closer you get the better." He finished. _

_Naruto nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei. I promise; I won't let you down."_

_Kakashi gave his eye-smile again as he knelt down and tasseled his student's hair, affectionately. _

"_I'm sure you will. Oh, by the way, Naruto. I think you'll be pleased to see that one of those scrolls is, in fact, an original jutsu created by the Nidaime himself."_

_Naruto's eyes widened to large state as an excited grin swept across his face._

"_Wow! Really, Sensei?"_

_Kakashi chuckled as he nodded his head._

_Naruto then looked at him, suspiciously._

"_Sensei, what are __**you**__ doing with something this valuable?" _

_Kakashi looked up in a thinking pose._

"_Well…." He then looked back at Naruto and gave, yet another, eye-smile. "I'll tell ya some other time."_

_Naruto face-faulted and then shook his fist in his sensei's face._

"_Hey, you cheater! That's cheap! C'mon tell me!"_

_Kakashi chuckled and tasseled his student's hair and then turned around and began walking off._

"_Save your energy for the exam, Naruto. Good lucking trying to master those jutsus. When you have the time, may be pursue Asuma-san to get you to teach you some of his futon jutsus, as I don't know any, really." With that being said, Kakashi left his fuming student behind._

_===End of flashback no justasu===_

Naruto grumbled under his breath about his lazy, shifty, sensei. He then sighed and began looking over the jutsu when he suddenly heard a large commotion from behind him.

Berating himself for his inattentiveness, Naruto made a hasty retreat back to where his teammates were to see them in a battle with the strange Sound trio that they had met prior to the first exam.

He jumped in front of one of the boys, this one with wild spiky hair, and began assaulting the boy.

The boy paused their match by doing a back flip and then looked at Naruto, curiously. His eyes narrowed and a smirk emerged as he made a loud whistle, which seemed to stop the others' fighting.

"Hey!" He called out, "What was the description of the person we were supposed to look out for? You know, the one Orochimaru wanted us to take back with us to Oto?"

The one wrapped like a mummy, with a hunched back, gave a thoughtful pose and then began listing things off.

"Well, lets see….He's supposed to have blonde hair…blue eyes and….peculiar blue, glowing, streaks across his face."

Naruto and the others starred at this proclamation.

"Oh yeah," The mummy boy said. "He's supposed to have had some sort of demon in him as well."

To be continued…

A/N: I know it's crummy for me to do this to you all, but this is where the cliffhanger is.

I was wracking my brain trying to find an alternate course to take in changing the "Forest of Death/Orochimaru-branding-Sasuke" arc. I found Orochimaru being intrigued by how the Kyuubi dying by Naruto's sudden kekki genki emergence, was the better of two options.

I apologize for the slowness in updating. The weekends and other odd times will be when I'll be able to write and or post, so please be patient and I'll do my best to get these bad boys out to you all.

Q-n-P


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